Son Gohan The Destroyer
by EmeraldSaiyan
Summary: Death greets Gohan at the end of The Cell Games, yet instead of passing on to The Otherworld, Whis takes an interest in the young saiyan's incredible power and decides to train him as Lord Beerus' successor. With the balance of the universe at stake, Gohan accepts the deity's offer. (AU)
1. The End

_Death greets Gohan at the end of the Cell Games, yet instead of passing on to The Otherworld, Whis takes an interest in the young saiyan's incredible power and decides to train him as Lord Beerus' successor. With the balance of the universe at stake, Gohan accepts the deity's offer. Yet there is a prophecy on the horizon along with an ancient evil threatening the universe as they know it. Throw in a junior apprentice struggling between what is right and wrong in the realm of Gods. Will Gohan become the next God of Destruction of Universe 7? Or will he return to Earth and put the universe in danger?_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Dragonball franchise. (sadly)_

 _Hello there Fanfictioners! This is a new story for me, as most of my focus at the moment is on my series Dragonball Awakening. But I have had this idea for a very long time, since I started watching Super, and I wanted to post the first chapter and share it with the sit to see what people thought. Like many Gohan fans, I felt that our boy did not get the spotlight he deserved at the end of Z and in Super, so I wanted to do a twist on a very much loved story. This fanfiction will be much more light hearted than my series that I am writing at the moment, and I really hope that you enjoy it. It's something that Ive been writing chapters of here and there when I need a break away from my series, but as Super has ended for now, I couldnt help but write a bit more. I really hope you guys enjoy the first chapter! And just a side note, I am British and as such will be writing in a British accent and style, with British words and terms, I just find that my writing flows a lot better that way, and it is just the way I write! ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter One**

 **The End**

 **xxxx**

 **Planet Earth, Age 767**

A familiar scene, a change of heart, a drastic decision that will alter the fate of the universe forever. It is said that one's destiny is already set in stone, yet the consequences of our actions are so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future and by extension, destiny, is a very difficult business indeed. One small change, one rash decision can alter the ripple of time itself, break the chain, shift the winds of direction. And so it was that on this day in the month of May, in the age of 767 on a planet made of mud and water, did a the destiny of a young boy come into question.

The entire world waited with baited breath as good challenged evil, as light struggled to overcome the darkness in a tournament of fighting skill and glory. One being strived to prove his perfection, whilst the other strived to unleash the imperfection within. The battlefield was painted red with blood, intermingled with the tears that spilled from the boys deep emerald eyes. The need to save his friends was overwhelming, and every strike, every blow that crippled them reached his ears in a sickening rhythm. They were going to die, he was going to loose them all.

He would not watch this anymore.

Then, there was rage, rage that ignited a fire in a young boy that refused to be put out. It was unyielding, consuming, as waves of rippling power washed over the battle field. The whole world shook with an agonising force, as the lad who had not even entered his teens struck the bio-android down with two mighty blows. The warriors, battle torn and bloodied beyond belief were awestricken, rooted to the spot as they stared disbelievingly at the once innocent little boy that had now surpassed every single one of them.

Hope swelled in their feverish hearts as the boy overpowered the malicious android, yet that hope slowly turned to worry and uncertainty. Perhaps the warriors of Earth had put too much faith in the boy? As it was with a painful realisation that he was growing reckless, cocky, especially when he had hit the android with so much force that the young woman was expelled within the depths of the beast's gut.

Fury, this time from the android, a threat to Earth, a young boy's mistake and a father's sacrifice. It was over, and the pint-sized competitor fell to his knees. Golden spikes of hair fell about his face, tears intermingled with blood, sweat and dirt. Son Gohan sobbed, the desperate, heart wrenching cries for his father echoing around the barren wasteland. He could feel the eyes of his friends burning into him, and through his grief could he just make out his father's best friend talking to him in hushed tones, a strong hand clasped firmly against his shoulder in reassurance.

Suddenly, laughter cut through the air like a knife, and a familiar bundle of Ki's illuminated his senses. Cell was back, gloating fuchsia eyes leering at the young saiyan as he stood before them, more powerful than ever before.

And the path of destiny diverged.

Gohan's grief overwhelmed him, his blood boiled over and he leaped at the android before anyone could blink, ignoring the startled squarks and roars of desperation from his friends. Lightening bolts rippled over his golden aura as he manically charged at Cell, yet quickly found that the android was managing to keep up with him. It was no longer a tournament of perfection, of proving ones worth. No, it was a battle of vengeance and desperation, a furious scrap between two titans, a fight to the death - and it was close.

The Z-Fighters took to the air, as sonic booms caused the ground below them to shake uncontrollably. They watched disbelievingly, as the eleven year old's eyes glinted with malicious intent, striking powerfully at the android before he was knocked back just as hard.

Cell chuckled as they broke apart, "You're letting your anger blind you boy."

Gohan snarled, his broken heart pumping with adrenaline, "I'll make you pay Cell."

"In your condition?" He scoffed mockingly, "I highly doubt it. Though it would be interesting to see how much further I can push you."

The young super saiyan gritted his teeth, just what was that monster planning?

Suddenly, his eyes widened, as Cell directed an outstretched palm towards the Earth, "My my Gohan, just how many more innocent bystanders are you going to let me kill before you fulfil your promise of destroying me?"

"NO!" He roared, as a bright yellow beam erupted from his palm and careened towards a young girl with pigtails, who was cowering behind a nearby rock formation.

Gohan was quick to act, and in a burst of golden Ki, he propelled himself through the air, grabbing the girl by the waist and protecting her from the murderous blast. Pure agony ripped through his left arm as the attack hit, knocking him to the ground and on top of the girl. He could hear her shrieks over the sound of his own cries of pain, but knew that he had taken the hit full force. Blood spewed unforgivingly from his bicep and shoulder, his shoulder blade shattered and his arm dislocated from the socket. He panted as the dust subsided, and looked into the girl's fearful sapphire eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked, gritting his teeth in pain.

She nodded, "Y-yes, t-thank you for saving me."

He gave her a goofy smile, despite the pain he was in, blushing a little as he realised he was still firmly on top of her. He had no idea where she had come from, he certainly hadn't seen her before. Though it was evident that she was some kind of martial artist, she wore a white karate style gi that was now dirt laden and singed from the explosion. Her short raven pigtails were frazzled, settling on the shoulders of her gi which had the mark of ' _Satan Dojo_ ' embellished on the chest.

They clambered up slowly, helping each other to their feet as the girl gaped at his useless arm.

"Y-you're hurt!" she gasped, tears in her eyes.

"Don't worry about me, just get to safety," Gohan pressed, his features suddenly becoming stern as he looked towards the smirking android in the air.

"Videl! VIDEL! Oh my little girl!" The booming voice of Mister Satan gushed, running towards them and tumbling over himself. The camera crew, along with his flamboyant studies were hot on his tail. "What are you doing here?! It's too dangerous!"

"I-I'm sorry Daddy," she sniffed guiltily, as the enormous man engulfed her into a protective hug,"I just wanted to see you fight!"

"Y-you," The Champ stammered in awe, his eyes averting to the young saiyan, "You saved her."

Gohan sighed, he could feel the android's wicked energy pulsating above him, attacking his senses in white hot waves. He knew that it was no use, his energy was completely cut in half. Still, he needed to give the others time to escape.

"Please, get as far away from here as fast as you can," he stated boldly, giving the group who were looking at him with a mixture of disbelief and terror one last glance before kicking off from the ground and firing himself back towards the awaiting Cell.

"Your fight is with me Cell," the pre-teen growled, his eyes narrowing at the android, "Leave everyone else out of it."

"Interesting," Cell observed, "You are severely injured and yet you still insist on fighting me. Surely you realise that your efforts will be in vain."

"Less talking, more fighting," he seethed, causing the android to erupt into laughter.

"As you wish," he smirked, before Gohan was met with a crippling head-butt.

He was seeing stars, yet quickly recovered, phasing in and out and dodging Cell's attacks as quickly as he could.

"You can't dodge me forever!" Cell snarled, and then suddenly he disappeared.

The halfling whirled around, his eyes darting about him, until a sudden shriek from below reached his ears. Cell's energy was directly behind him, and the young saiyan felt the horror crawl up his throat and lodge there, as long cold fingers stretched out on the curvature of his back.

"Incase you're wondering," came the monster's sadistic tone, "it's a little trick I learned from your dear departed father when he attempted to destroy me. It's how I was able to come back to Earth, and it's the very same trick that I'm going to use to end you, you little brat."

Instant transmission? But how? How had he learned his father's technique so quickly? But there was no time to ask questions, as a blood curdling scream echoed around him, and a searing heat cut through his back, ripping through his torso and shooting out the other side. Gohan watched the Ki blast careen off into the distance in shock, and it took a while for him to realise that the screams of agony were his own. Blood filled his throat, the metallic taste causing him to gag and the red liquid to spill forth from his lips. His transformation left him altogether, his golden locks quivering before returning to it's usual ebony as he hit the dusty ground, lying in a pool of his own blood, that was rapidly haemorrhaging from his body.

"GOHAN!" he heard several of his friends scream, yet his head was swimming, his vision blurred.

His entire body was going into shock, sending signals of alarm and terror rushing to his brain. Yet he mustered all his strength to focus on his deadly opponent, and he could just about make out Cell landing before him, before turning around to smirk at his distraught friends in the sky.

"So, who is going to be my next challenger?" The android asked smugly, chuckling to himself, "Oh come now, don't be shy! Though I suppose it doesn't matter now, if you forfeit it'll only make me destroy the Earth faster. It's up to you, the great Goku and your little brat are dead. Vegeta? Come, why not try to avenge your fallen race for old times sake?"

Gohan frowned, had the android missed something? He may have been dying but he was certainly not dead. Had Cell gotten so cocky that he thought a badly aimed Ki blast would finish him off that quickly? His heart was still beating for goodness sake!

"Tick tock," Cell smiled sadistically, "You're only prolonging the inevitable. Once I've destroyed the Earth, then I'll move onto other planets. Oh yes, Doctor Gero designed me for one purpose only, but now I have achieved killing Goku I know that I am destined for so much more. I AM THE UNIVERSES END! I AM PERFECTION!"

Gohan growled as the stupid bug continued to gloat, he was in so much pain! But he couldn't just roll over and die when Cell was about to destroy everything he had ever loved. Android Sixteen had died for him, his father had sacrificed himself for them all, and now the entire Earth was next on his list, along with countless other planets. He would not stand for it, he would not let one death go unaccounted for - not one.

A surge of untapped energy suddenly erupted within him, his golden aura sprang to life as Gohan willed all the Ki he had left to come to the surface. His aura cracked with lightening bolts, his hair flashing gold and spiking upwards, his onyx eyes turning a vibrant green. The young saiyan used his Ki to push himself upright, staring daggers at the monster who all but turned to look at him in bewilderment. A startled gasp escaped the Z-Fighters at the sight of the blood soaked super saiyan. He was half dead, though before Cell could even get a good look at the ascended boy, did a Ki blast rip right through his torso, straight through his blackened heart.

"W-well, you can't be that p-perfect," Gohan panted, falling onto one knee, "F-first rule of battle, stupid, d-dont ever turn your b-back on your opponent. Y-you must have got t-those shit for brains cells from F-Frieza."

The android made a horrifying gargling sound with his throat, as he choked on his own blood, "W-why you little-!"

"KAMEHAMEHAAAAAAAA!" The young boy roared with all his might, pushing every last ounce of strength he had into the bright blue blast that erupted from his palm.

His left arm lay useless by his side, his torso bleeding unforgivingly. His body was ripped to shreds, and he could almost feel his organs shutting down one by one. Cell's screams echoed in his ears, along with the frantic shouts of his friends. He poured everything he had into the Kamehameha Wave, thoughts of his mother and father swirled in his mind, Mister Piccolo, Krillin and the rest of the Z-Fighters. He would not let them down, he would take Cell to Otherworld with him! Gohan unleashed a howl of rage and agony, as the entire planes were engulfed in a vibrant blue hue. The entire Earth was shaking, but the pre-teen knew he had to push on. Tremors rocked the planets surface, the clouds darkened and lightening bolts cracked across the sky, intermingling with Gohan's pulsating aura.

Then, as Cell's Ki winked out of existence, Gohan collapsed to both knees, his transformation gone, his energy spent. The Super Kamehameha burst threw the clouds, dispersing the darkness and bathing the battle field in the glorious May sunlight. The young saiyan watched it fly off into the atmosphere, into the stars where he knew his father would be waiting for him beyond. Tears coursed down his fevered cheeks as utter agony fled through every part of his body. Piccolo was beside him before he could face-plant the ground, rolling him over so that he was looking up at him.

"Gohan, Gohan stay with me!" Piccolo ordered, though his usual gruff tone sounded frantic and thick with emotion.

"H-he did it, he actually did it!" Yamcha gasped, uncaring that he had knelt in the rapidly forming pool of blood that escaped him, "Come on mate, you did it, you need to stay with us. Please."

"We need to get him to Dende," said Tien solemnly, "But I think it might be too late."

"W-we'll wish him back," Krillin choked, unable to keep his tears from falling, "Did you hear that kiddo? We're going to wish you back."

"Is there anything we can do?" Trunks' voice cut through the air sadly, "For the pain."

"I'll just hold him," Piccolo stated, before cradling him close, "It's going to be alright kid. We're so proud of you."

The young boy opened his eyes slightly, his breathing slow and erratic now, he could see all of his friends around him. The friends that had loved and guided him, fought for him and died for him even. They watched him intently, solemnly, and Gohan realised with sadness that it was only a matter of time. Kami, he must have looked a gruesome sight. Vegeta stood back, though was staring at him with an expression that he couldn't quite place. He spotted Mister Satan and his daughter a ways off with their little group, the quiet sobs of the blue eyed girl reaching his ears. He wished they wouldn't cry, he didn't deserve to be cried over. Krillin was closest to him with an unconscious Android Eighteen over his shoulder, and he brushed his fingers through his hair in a vain attempt to sooth his pain.

Slowly, his eyes found the coal black orbs of the person that held him, although they were shining with emotion.

"M's-sorry M-mister Piccolo," Gohan whispered, unable to stop more blood pouring from his mouth.

"Gohan, you have nothing to to be sorry for, do you hear me?!" Piccolo cried, holding the boy tighter to him, "Gohan! GOHAN!"

The Namekian's cries were followed by silence, as the young saiyan's life energy disappeared.

"H-he's gone," Krillin sniffed, looking sadly at his comrades.

Piccolo sighed, scrunching his eyes in despair as he slowly closed Gohan's eyes. He couldn't look at those deadened onyx orbs any longer. Yet no sooner had he removed his hand, did the boy's body suddenly disappear. The Z-Fighters said nothing for a while, instead they stared at the bloodied ground where he had been, as they all knew the reason why he had been allowed to keep his body in the next life. A sacrifice that should never have been. Too many had been sacrificed that day, Android Sixteen, then Goku and now Gohan. Yet hope that they would see their friends again carried them to The Lookout, and none of them even turned back to hear the frantic cries of one Hercule Satan and his daughter, who were in desperate need of a lift home.

The healing hands of the young Namekian soon restored the warriors energy, though did nothing to ease the gaping hole in their hearts.

"They'll be back in no time," Krillin stated boldly, giving them a wry smile as they stood before the glowing dragonballs, "You'll see."

The Eternal Dragon came forth in a summon of words and a spectacular swirl of golden light and soon enough the great world eclipsing body of Shenron towered before the battle torn warriors, red eyes regarding them curiously.

"You have summoned me," Shenron growled, "I can allow you two wishes, state your first wish."

"Shenron, can you bring all the people that were killed by Cell back to life?" asked Krillin with hope in his eyes.

"Your wish has been granted."

A swell of energy below The Lookout told them that all those lost on Earth had been restored, bubbling and buzzing with life on the planet below. However, their young friend was nowhere to be seen.

"That doesn't make sense," Yamcha frowned, "Where are Goku and Gohan?"

"Goku has been wished back once before," Piccolo said wisely, though his eyes darted around him curiously, looking for his student, "Though we could use the Namekian dragonballs to bring him back."

"But why isn't Gohan here?" asked Krillin worriedly.

"Maybe because Gohan wasn't… killed… directly by Cell it didn't work," offered Trunks tentatively, "He died of his injuries."

"Oh yeah, we might have to wish Gohan back separately then," Krillin said thoughtfully, "But what about Goku?"

" _Hi everyone! What's the problem?_ " came a cheerful voice from above, causing their eyes to boggle.

"Kakarot?!" Vegeta growled disbelievingly, "Is that you?"

" _Yeah, I just passed through the check-in station and King Kai told me that there's a problem, but he won't tell me what it is_!" he whined almost childishly.

"Well, we don't know what to do Goku," said Yamcha, "We've only got one wish left and we're trying to decide who to use it on first."

" _What do you mean?_ " asked the deceased warrior, " _Just wish Dende to Namek and then he can summon Porunga, I don't mind waiting a little while. Though I can't wait to see Gohan and Chi-Chi again. You were amazing son, I'm so proud of you_."

The occupants of The Lookout shared an aghast look, did he not know?

"Goku," Krillin said carefully, "I don't know how to tell you this, but Gohan… Gohan isn't with us."

A pause, " _Eh? What are you on about Krillin?_ "

"Your son is dead Goku!" Piccolo snapped suddenly, causing all heads to turn towards him in shock, the Namekian was positively seething.

" _W-what?!_ " Goku spluttered, " _B-but he can't be!_ "

"Well you'd better start believing it Goku," he snarled, "Gohan is dead, and it's all your fault."

" _No Piccolo you don't understand, Gohan CAN'T be dead_ ," he explained hurriedly, his voice breaking at the revelation, " _I've just passed through the check-in station and he wasn't there. Hell, I can still see the check-in station form where I'm standing and he's not there!_ "

"But that doesn't make any sense," Vegeta scoffed, "The brat disappeared before our eyes."

"It is true," Shenron suddenly boomed from above, "The one named Son Gohan has not passed through the Check-In Station to Otherworld."

"W-what?" Yamcha's eyes widened, "So he's not dead? Then wish him here!"

"The one named Son Gohan is not alive, nor is he within the realms of the dead. He is in a dimension that I have no control over. I cannot reach him there, nor can I bring him here," the dragon explained.

"B-but what does that even mean?!" Krillin gaped, as the gang looked towards Shenron in bewilderment, "You're telling us that Gohan can't come back to Earth?"

"That is correct."

Silence rained upon them, before the eternal dragon spoke once more.

"Choose another wish."

" _Krillin, wish Dende to Namek_ ," came Goku's stern yet troubled voice, " _I'm coming home, and we're going to find my son_."

* * *

 **A Far Away Dimension, The Living World, Age 767**

When Gohan opened his eyes, he was met with the strangest scene he had ever come across in his life; and that was saying something, given everything that he had been through in his short eleven years. He was surrounded by an amber sky, that was streaked with red and orange clouds. He could depict many moons and planets hanging like stars in the distant sky, that cast eerie shadows over the emerald grass that he was stood upon. An enormous tree stood before him, looking rather ancient with branches that twisted and turned as it spilled upwards, and he could just about make out several stone buildings etched into the bark.

He frowned, the last thing he remembered was battling Cell, a hole in his chest, being encompassed by blinding rage and being surrounded by his friends when… oh bugger.

Spotting a sparkling ravine nearby, the halfling raced over the grass and kneeled down to get a good look at his reflection. His purple gi was in tatters, though he was glad to see that he was devoid of any injuries, the gaping hole in his torso would not be a pretty sight to behold. He gulped, reaching up to touch the shining golden circle above his head.

Yup, he was definitely dead.

Staring at the reflection of planets and stars, he knitted his eyebrows in thought and asked allowed, "So, this is Otherworld?"

"Oh no my dear boy, far from it in fact."

Gohan jumped a mile at the sound of the sudden voice. It had caused him so much of a fright in fact, that the boy fell into the water, coughing and spluttering as he struggled to grab a hold of the river bank.

A musical chuckle reached his ears, and soon Gohan found himself levitating in the air before falling in a heap on the ground. He coughed up the water that had flooded his lungs as his face hit the dirt, his nose almost touching a pair of shiny black shoes. The young saiyan looked up, finding that the shoes belonged to a teal-skinned man, with rather effeminate features. He had white hair that was styled into a neat quiff atop his head. He was dressed in odd looking black and maroon robes, along with a black cuirass with white and orange diamonds adoring it. He held a long sceptre in his delicate palm, complete with a spherical gem hovering above it.

The strange man smiled at Gohan kindly, aqua eyes surveying him in amusement.

"W-who are you?" asked the young boy, clambering to his feet hurriedly, a little embarrassed at his display.

"Dear child, my name is Whis," he chuckled, "And you are Son Gohan, I presume?"

He blinked, "H-how did you know my name?"

"Oh I know a lot about you, young saiyan," said Whis, his voice calm and unwavering, "I also know a lot about the extraordinary power you have within, which is the reason why I have brought you here."

"Sorry but where is 'here' exactly?" he asked, "You said this isn't Otherworld, and aren't I supposed to go there to get judged and stuff, Dad said-"

"Ah yes," Whis interrupted, "Your father. He is the saiyan that defeated Frieza isn't he?"

Gohan's eyes widened at the man's in-depth knowledge of his family, "Well, kind of, but how did you know that?"

"A deity such as myself is well informed of the trials and tribulations of the universe young one," Whis informed him.

"A-a deity?" the boy gaped, "You mean like King Kai?"

"I think God is the term you are looking for Gohan," he smiled, "This world is home to Gods after all, the North Kai as you know of from your father, is not permitted to step foot upon these grounds, being of lower rank."

Gohan stared at the strange deity, just where was he?!

Whis grinned, "Care to take a walk with me Gohan?"

"Um, alright," he replied, following Whis a little apprehensively.

They walked in silence for a while, passing through a well kept garden before Whis spoke again, "This is a world that exists in the land of the living, separate from Otherworld, but within a dimension of it's own."

The halfling listened intently, staring up at the man as they strolled along a winding cobbled path of stone.

"In the beginning of the universe, there was All. All gave life and destruction to all things, eventually causing a cataclysm of events that let to the creation of dimensions, Otherworld and the living world. The Sacred Realm of the Kai's was created, and a Kaiju grew from the buzz of life energy that resided there. From that tree, grew the golden fruits that sprouted deities known as The Supreme Kai. The Supreme Kai and their attendants took on their role of creating planets and life across the universe, but with a vast array of planets to care for, four other Kai's where chosen to watch over each quadrant, with a Grand Kai watching over their affairs. However, with creation comes destruction, as the universe can become imbalanced if they are not equal. Do you know what that would mean if the universe became imbalanced Gohan?"

"Well, um, I suppose something not very good," he offered, trying to wrap his head around the notion of all these deities even existing.

"You would be correct," said Whis with a small smile, "If there is only life, then the fabrication of the universe can unravel. Although mortals are complex in their ways, there is only so much war and disease can do, so it was reasoned that with Gods of Creation, there must be a God of Destruction."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Gohan, frowning.

"I'll get to that," he said kindly, as they walked beside a sparkling lake, "You see, Gods of Destruction cannot simply be created and plucked from a tree. They must hold mortal qualities to be able to fully understand the consequences of their actions. Otherwise the immense power they wield, along with their responsibility can go to their heads, and horrific things could happen. All, or The King of Everything as he is sometimes referred to, has a powerful attendant called The Grand Priest. He is an Angel that gave life to other Angels, who are tasked with overlooking the Gods of Destruction and Creation and ensuring that the universe reminds in balance. However we mainly act as attendants and trainers for the Gods of Destruction and because they have to be so powerful, there is only one permitted for each universe."

"You say 'we'," said Gohan, eyes wide, "Does that mean you're an Angel?"

"Yes Gohan, it does," Whis smiled, "And I am currently an attendant of Lord Beerus, The God of Destruction for this universe."

"This universe? You mean there's more than one?!" he gaped in astonishment.

"Why of course," said Whis, "There are in fact twelve universes. We are the seventh."

"Woah, that's mental!" he squeaked.

"Quite," he chuckled, before he came to a halt, staring at the young saiyan intently, "But I have not brought you here just to describe the structure of the multiverse to you Gohan, there are much more pressing matters that I need to attend to."

"Oh, like what?" he blinked.

Whis cleared his throat, "Lord Beerus is at a time in his life where he will soon need to start looking for an apprentice. Time is not in abundance to even Gods, and time is ticking. Lord Beerus has only but a few hundred years to find someone to train before the end of his life cycle. I have been watching you for a while Gohan, your power interests me. Your intentions are pure yet there is such rage in your heart. You are young, yes, eleven Earth years are not much to show by ways of experience, but you have fought more battles than most mortal warriors have done in their lifetime. Your power is extraordinary, and I, for one, think you are the perfect candidate."

Gohan gulped, the word 'perfect' causing him to shudder, having heard it roll off Cell's tongue over and over again. "Sir, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that the God of Destruction of universe seven will soon be no more," said Whis, "And I want you to become his successor."

* * *

 _23rd April, 2018._


	2. The God of Destruction

_Wow you guys, just wow! Thank you so so much for all your reviews and follows! I'm actually really shocked of how many followers Ive got in such a small amount of time - and after one chapter! You're reception of this story is incredible! I wasn't going to post for a while, but you've made me all way too excited for this story and given me loads of confidence! So here is chapter two! I really hope you enjoy it! ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

 **The God of Destruction**

 **xxxx**

He had to be joking. Right? Gohan stared at the Angel in question, who was looking towards him with expectant eyes. A God? He couldn't do it, he couldn't become a _God_. And especially not one of destruction! Gohan fought for life, love and his friends, he didn't do it for chaos and mayhem. He was just a kid!

"I sense you have some reservations," observed Whis.

 _Oh, you think?!_

"Sorry Mister Whis," said Gohan politely, "But I have to get to my family, they'll be wishing me back to life with the dragonballs back on Earth soon and my mum will be really worried."

"Hmm, Earth dragonballs you say?" he said thoughtfully, "Ah, yes that's right you did have a Namekian guardian named Kami on your planet didn't you?"

The young saiyan nodded, "Please sir, my mum will be really angry and my dad-"

He stopped short, guilt pooling in the pit of his stomach. What would his father think of him? Would he be angry? Angry that he messed up so bad and he had to sacrifice his own life to save them?

Reading his thoughts, Whis spoke, "You wanted to make Cell suffer, didn't you Gohan? You wanted to destroy him for what he did."

"I-I don't fight because I want to," said Gohan, a shuddering breath escaping him, "I fight because I have to. Cell, I had to take him down, my father already died protecting me, and I wasn't going to let him getting away with causing any more pain. He was going to destroy everything. I only killed him because I had to, I didn't have another choice."

Whis gave him a knowing smile, "Gohan, there is a saying that those best suited to power are those that have never truly sought it. And despite your pure heart and intentions, I have never seen power explode in such an exceptional manner as yours. It could feel it from all the way over this side of the universe."

Gohan's eyes widened, he didn't think he was _that_ strong, "What? Really?"

"Oh yes," said the deity, "You have a great gift inside of you Gohan, I sense hidden strengths that can go far beyond what you have achieved today in your battle against Cell. If you accept, I can offer you training unlike nothing else you have put your body through before, but it will be worth it. You could achieve a higher power that some mortals can't even imagine in their wildest dreams. I have no doubt in your abilities, and you would be doing the universe a greatness my boy."

The pre-teen thought for a moment. It did seem like an amazing opportunity, he knew that his father would jump at the chance to improve, test his strengths and achieve a divine power. But Gohan was not his father, he had proven that today when he had gotten cocky and reckless against Cell. Son Goku would have ended the fight quickly and swiftly, not _tortured_ Cell to within an inch of his life, no matter how evil he was. He could only bet on just how disappointed his father must be of him. He wanted to apologise, to feel his father's fingers ruffle through his hair and tell him that everything was going to be alright. He wanted to cry into his mothers arms, tell her just how sorry he was that he went off to fight, and hear her tut and tell him to stop being silly and how proud she was of him, before wiping his tears and forcing him into the kitchen for a well deserved family dinner. Together.

Gohan sighed, "I just want to go home Sir, please."

"Well that is disappointing," the Angel said sadly, "I had such high hopes for you, young one. Though I suppose I'd better let you enjoy what time you have left with your family and friends. Oh Lord Beerus won't be happy about this one, we'll have to make an appointment with The Grand Priest and tell him that they'll be short of another universe."

"Wait, didn't you say that you had another couple hundred years?" the young saiyan piped up, panicking slightly, "Surely you could find someone by then!"

"I've been looking for a power like yours for the last five-hundred years Gohan," Whis sighed, "I'm afraid it'll be too late to find someone now, with only a couple of centuries left the universe will start to fall in on itself soon. Beerus has been taking more naps recently, meaning he hasn't done that much destroying. Time is simply running out."

His eyes widened, the universe was going to collapse?! And if what Whis was saying really was true, that his power could amount to that of Gods, he would be powerful beyond measure. A God of Destruction though… what would his mother and father think of him? What would Piccolo say? It wasn't exactly an honourable duty to destroy worlds… or was it? This Lord Beerus was effectively doing his duty by not allowing the universe to implode. And if Gohan didn't step up to the plate, then it would mean the end of everything… just like against Cell.

He gritted his teeth, thoughts of his mother and father whirring around in his mind. They didn't deserve to die, not after giving him everything, life, love and the power to do and know better. Gohan's eyes hardened, he would not let anyone die for nothing. He would not make that mistake again.

Whis was watching him carefully, and he was certain that he was reading his mind as he spoke, "If you do this Gohan, know that you may never return to Earth again. You will become a deity in training, and will only be permitted to mix with mortals on missions."

The young saiyan closed his eyes tightly shut, struggling with himself.

"There is a time that comes in everyones life, where one must make the choice between what is right, and what is easy, some a lot sooner than others" said Whis wisely.

The young saiyan sighed, the Angel's words ringing true. Something stirred within him, the deep rooted sense of duty he had inside causing him to finally make up his mind. It would be hard, so incredibly hard. He might not see his family and friends again, which was difficult to process for such a young boy. But Son Gohan was wise beyond his years, he had overcome nigh impossible feats in his life, and this was no exception. He knew what was at stake, and it was at that moment that he decided to abandon his selfish feelings. It was either his happiness until he died, or the death of everyone else in the entire universe.

He closed his eyes in a silent prayer, _I may not become the warrior you wanted to take your place Dad, nor the scholar you wished for Mum, but I hope you'll forgive me. This is something I_ ** _have_** _to do, not just for myself, but for the universe._

Slowly, the young saiyan smiled up at the Angel who beheld him curiously, "Alright, I'll do it."

"Excellent," Whis positively beamed, "Now Gohan, what do you-?"

 **KA-BOOM!**

The pre-teen yelped, as suddenly, a moon exploded in the sky, sending dust and debris flying through the air. It shook the ground beneath their feet, and Gohan had to dig his heels into the grass to stop himself from toppling over. The blast was so fast that he had nearly missed it, but he was certain that it had come from one of the buildings embedded into the gigantic tree.

"Oh well, at least it was only a moon this time," the blue skinned deity sighed in distain before clasping a hand onto Gohan's shoulder and encasing them in a green bubble of Ki, "Come Gohan, let's go and meet Lord Beerus, judging by that display he's quite obviously managed to drag himself out of bed. I bet he's getting hungry by now."

At the sound of food, the halfling's stomach gave a tremendous growl, causing the Whis to look towards him in shock, "What the devil was that?"

"Oh, that was my stomach Sir," he blushed, "I haven't eaten since breakfast what with the battle against Cell and all."

Whis chuckled, "Well, they'll be plenty of food later. Oh yes, I think that you and Lord Beerus will get along quite swimmingly."

And like that, they were off, speeding across the amber sky encased by the green orb. Gohan gasped at the beautiful scenery below him. Acres and acres of green landscape seemed to go on for miles, with glistening lakes and patches of dark yet bountiful forests embedded within the valleys. But he didn't have change to admire it for long as soon they had arrived in what appeared to be an enormous stone temple situated within the old enormous tree.

"Woah, what was that?" asked Gohan in awe, as the orb they were encased in disappeared.

"Ah, a little technique called levitation," he explained simply, "I can manipulate anything to move as I desire."

"That's so cool!" he chirped, a little excited, "Will I get to learn that?"

"One step at a time young one," the Angel chuckled, "Now, follow me."

The temple was rather dark in Gohan's opinion, with regal looking furniture, stone walls and floors. They passed a large aquarium that ran the length of one of the corridors, various odd looking fish of all shapes and sizes seemed to follow him as he walked.

"Ah, Lord Beerus, ready for dinner already I see," Whis chimed as they suddenly came to a halt.

They had just entered what looked like a throne room, with large rising archways etched in the stone. Gigantic tree roots seemed to be holding the stone in place, encircling around pillars and lining the walls. There was a long table filled with various odd looking delicacies, though the smell was wonderful. A large throne sat in front of them, the back of which was facing towards them. It was obvious to Gohan that there was someone in it, and he could see long pointed ears protruding from it's seat. He stopped short, feeling suffocated all of a sudden. There was so much _pressure_ in the air, as though a ton of solid brick had just landed on all of his senses. Come to think of it, he couldn't sense anything from this Lord Beerus either, nor Whis for that matter. Could it be that this unbreathable pressure was coming from The God of Destruction himself? It was unbearable, _unbelievable._ Though it didn't seem evil in any way, just _wrong_. He had never felt anything like it.

"You woke me up earlier than we planned Whis, this had better be good," came the voice from the chair. It was cold and riddled with annoyance as he spoke again, "Whose the kid?"

Gohan gulped, yet Whis gave him a reassuring smile, "He is a strong candidate to become your successor my Lord."

The deity whirled around so quickly in his seat that Gohan thought that his head might spin off his shoulders. Lord Beerus stood, coming into the dim light so that he now revealed himself to the young saiyan. He blinked, he sort of looked like a hairless cat, with purple skin and large pointed ears and snout. His long tail whipped around curiously behind him as he stared at the boy. His attire was similar to Whis', with blue gi trousers, and black sashes adoring his waits and shoulders, orange and white diamonds decorated the fabric. His wrists were adored with golden bangles, which glinted in the blue hue of light from the large fish tank behind him. Lord Beerus raised a claw-like palm to rub his chin thoughtfully, a smirk playing on his lips. Gohan felt incredibly uncomfortable under his penetrative stare, his presence was utterly dominating. This was a _destroyer_ God after all, and the pre-teen thought that he was actually going to incinerate him right then and there, before a bark of laughter escaped his chest and it wasn't long before the deity was sent into full blown hysterics.

"My _successor_?!" Beerus howled, clutching his sides, "Are you serious Whis?! He's but a child! You boy, how old are you?"

"Um, eleven," Gohan replied nervously, causing the God to scoff.

" _Eleven_ Whis, come on!" Beerus snorted, "He's barely toilet trained!"

The young saiyan scowled.

"Now now my Lord, we mustn't judge," Whis said calmly, "This boy has just fought in an epic battle."

"Oh yes and it's obvious as to how _that_ went," said Beerus, giving his halo a pointed look.

"Here," Whis sighed, tapping his staff so that an image erupted from the gem.

Gohan gaped both out of shock and horror, as a projection of him fighting Cell illuminated the temple. He watched himself with a sickly feeling, as he transformed into the second level with blind fury, before taking down Cell with two might blows. The hologram of himself smirked sadistically, his golden aura crackling around him, lighting up the room in a electrifying glow.

Then, with another tap, it was gone.

"That evil being that Gohan here fought and destroyed was much stronger than Frieza," explained Whis.

"Stronger than Frieza you say?" Beerus hummed thoughtfully, before turning his sharp eyes towards him, "Tell me boy, what was that transformation? Your hair is black now is it not?"

"Um, yes sir," Gohan stuttered, even though he couldn't sense his power, that intense pressure he was getting from the deity told him that he was incredibly strong, "The first form was a super saiyan, and the one I transformed into there was an ascended level of super saiyan. So, I suppose, a super saiyan two?"

"A super saiyan two," Beerus repeated, before staring at him intently, "You're a saiyan? I thought that Frieza destroyed their planet years ago."

"Yes my Lord, before you went for your nap if you remember," Whis answered for him, "Gohan here is half-saiyan. His father, who was the one that took down Frieza, is a saiyan and his mother is a human from Planet Earth."

"A half-breed?" the deity said, wrinkling his nose in disgust, "How disturbing."

Gohan bit his tongue for want of not letting out an angered growl.

"Do calm down my Lord, you're upsetting him," said Whis, causing Gohan to look towards him in alarm.

"Oh I am, am I?" Beerus snorted, "It's too bad he didn't defend himself, and I thought saiyans were supposed to have guts."

He gaped, just what did he want from him?

"Still his power intrigues me, if that transformation is anything to go by," said the destroyer, thoughtfully, "Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan… now where have I heard that before? Oh who knows, I'm too hungry to think right now, just put him in the training camp with the rest, we will see if your little _project_ will live up to my standards."

"Oh but I do believe he will," smiled Whis, as Gohan gave him a confused look, "Would you like me to take him to the camp right away?"

Beerus waved them away with a flick of his wrist, signalling that they had been dismissed. The young saiyan hung his head dejectedly as the tantalising aroma of food became a distant memory. Finally thinking with his head and not with his stomach, he turned to Whis as they reached the outside of the temple.

"What does he mean by training camp?" he asked.

"You _will_ address my Lord by his proper title Gohan," said Whis firmly, "You don't want to get on his bad side already now do you?"

"Sorry," the boy winced, trying again, "What does _Lord Beerus_ mean by training camp?"

"Ah, forgive me Gohan for being so vague, but I had to get you to agree first," he replied with a wry smile, "You will have to earn your place as an apprentice, and go up against other hopefuls for the position of a junior destroyer."

"Wait, didn't you tell me that you couldn't find anyone for the job in five-hundred years?!" he retorted angrily, feeling tricked.

"That's true young one," he sighed, "Though Beerus won't except just anyone for the role I'm afraid, and no matter how good _I_ think you will be for the job, you still have to prove your worth. Both to Beerus and the other deities that watch over the universe."

Gohan groaned, this day was getting weirder and weirder.

"Don't worry, I'm certain you'll pass with flying colours," Whis smiled happily, giving him a reassuring wink, "Now, if you would like to place your hand on my shoulder, I'll teleport us to the training camp."

The young saiyan reluctantly did as he was told, but was indeed too short to reach the Angel's shoulder, so instead placed his hand on his back.

"Hold on tight now," he informed him, as a white light suddenly engulfed them, "And please keep your arms and legs inside The Warp at all times, wouldn't want you to loose a limb before you've started training after all."

"Wait, wha-?!" Gohan yelped, as suddenly the wind picked up around them and they shot into the air at break neck speed.

He couldn't help the high pitched shriek that escaped his lips as it felt as though he was being propelled forwards by a tornado. He clung onto Whis' garb with both hands as they suddenly changed direction, speeding down to the ground faster than the speed of light.

Then as soon as it had started, it stopped, and Gohan wasn't able to stop himself properly as he slammed unceremoniously into the ground.

"Oww," the young saiyan whined.

Whis turned around with mild surprise as his shoes tapped lightly on the grass in front of him, "Oh my, you are quite the clumsy one aren't you? We'll have to work on that if you want to become the next God of Destruction."

"W-what was _that_?!" Gohan coughed, clambering up and narrowing his eyes at the Angel, "And did you have to go that fast?!"

"To answer your first question, that is a transportation technique called warping or The Warp as I affectionally call it," Whis explained, "With it, I can travel quickly through space and dimensions. I am in fact I am the fasted being in this universe."

The pre-teen's eyes widened, as he continued.

"And to answer your second question, no, I did not have to go that fast," he chuckled, "We are still on Lord Beerus' planet after all, though quite far beneath the palace. I just wanted to get you here as quickly as possible so that we can begin your training with the other recruits."

"Wow thanks," the boy mustered dryly, dusting off the dirt from his battle worn gi.

"Oh I wouldn't bother with that," the Angel implored, observing him trying to salvage his outfit, "You will be wearing these training clothes from now on."

Gohan blinked, as Whis tapped his staff and he had to quickly catch the neatly folded pile of light blue garments that suddenly materialised out of the air.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Whis quipped, "Try them on, I trust I've gotten the right size. There will be more of them in your chambers should you get these ruined, which I have no doubt of."

The young boy knew better than to ask questions about his so called chambers, he would find out soon enough anyway. Instead, he stripped off his battle torn gi and pulled on the celestial blue jogging bottoms and white trainers, before zipping up the matching hoodie. It had an odd looking symbol over the heart etched in gold embroidery, much resembling a childlike swiggle.

"That's my symbol there," said Whis, smiling in satisfaction as the pre-teen admired his new outfit, "All the apprentices bare it. Once you master my training, you may choose your own."

"Thank you Whis," Gohan mustered politely, though he couldn't help but feel a sense of betrayal towards his old master.

Honestly, he felt a little silly, it was only a gi after all. Though it signified so much, so many memories. He remembered the pride in Piccolo's eyes when he had asked him to materialise a gi like his for The Cell Games, rather than one resembling his father's.

Unsurprisingly, the Angel picked up on his sadness straight away, "As tattered as it may be, I think it is only proper for you to keep that old gi of yours, you seem to have the upmost respect for your first mentor."

"R-Really?" he choked, picking up the purple fabric from where it lay at his feet, "Wow, thank you!"

"I wouldn't want you getting homesick too quickly now," he replied pointedly, "We have a lot of work to do."

"Yes sir!"

"Now, how does that new suit feel, young one?" Whis asked.

Feeling a little more chipper, Gohan sprang into the air, throwing a few fast punches into the air along with a rapid spinning kick. His movements seemed light, fluid, and the tracksuit was incredibly cosy.

"It's brilliant," he said, landing with a grin and turning to his new mentor, "Master."

Whis chuckled, turning to the large oak doors in front of them, "Excellent, shall we?"

It was only then did the young saiyan really take notice as to where on Beerus' planet they were. It seemed that they were far below the palace that was embedded into the enormous tree, as Gohan immediately caught sight of the huge knotted roots that encircled the pristine wooden doors. They seemed to be in the middle of a courtyard, with marble stone benches and rose bushes adorning the dirt laden ground. It sort of reminded him of a secret garden from ancient mythology, what with various stone statues of what Gohan presumed were previous deities dotted around the yard.

It seemed like a rather dark and eerie place, though the ground was suddenly illuminated in a soft glow of light as Whis tapped his sceptre once more and the doors swung open to reveal a long tunnel bathed in light from the torches of fire bracketed onto the stone walls. He trotted behind the Angel obediently, casting shadows through the tunnel as they walked. Gohan was about to ask just how long the path went on for, when a high pitched scream reached his ears.

He jumped, still incredibly on edge since his fight with Cell and got into fighting stance immediately, his onyx eyes hardening and his senses on high alert, causing his mentor to chuckle.

"It seems as though the other apprentices have already started warming up," he surmised, as Gohan visibly relaxed, blushing slightly at his display, "Come Gohan, I'll introduce you. This way now."

 **BOOM!**

No sooner had they taken another step, did a figure burst through the stone walls to their left, sending the large bricks flying as the silhouette of a young man hit the opposite wall with a loud crack.  
Gohan coughed through the pillar of dust that encompassed the tunnel, his eyes widening in shock.

Did _everything_ always explode in this place?!

"Ha! Nice shot Eris!" came an amused shout from inside the destroyed wall.

The dust subsided, and Gohan looked into the large gap in the wall curiously. Immediately he caught sight of five apprentices, all looked as though they were in their mid to late teens. He guessed that the figure that had been thrown out into the tunnel was the sixth, but one thing he did know for certain was that they were all dead, his eyes drawn to the golden halos hovering above their heads.

They were sat around what seemed to be some kind of common room, with plush blue and gold armchairs set around a roaring strange blue fire. The walls and ceiling were high, and seemed to stretch for miles above them. Enormous bookshelves were fixed onto the entirety of the back wall, housing thousands of ancient textbooks in various languages and symbols that the young saiyan didn't recognise. He caught sight of two winding staircases that veered off into opposite directions, though he couldn't see what lay beyond it, as it looked as though they rejoined the tunnel. There was a large oak door next to them, not far away from where the wall had been destroyed. Various magnificent tapestries hung over the surviving walls, that depicted Lord Beerus in all his destructive glory. A beautifully painted picture decorated the wall over the fire, that illustrated a vast green landscape with a violet sky. A spiralling cliff face sat in the centre of the painting, with what like a shining hilt of a sword sticking out of it.

No one seemed to have noticed his and Whis' presence yet, as the owner of the voice continued to roar with laughter. He was a boy in his mid-teens, with wavy ginger hair and pale skin. He would have looked human, were it not for the wide golden eyes and fangs protruding from his lips. His fingernails were long and claw-like, and like the other apprentices, wore the same light blue tracksuit as Gohan. His muscles were lean, so lean that he almost looked gangly, though the young saiyan could sense that he was incredibly strong.

"Oh do shut up Makhai," a girl with wild ash coloured hair growled at him, allowing her outstretched fist to come to rest by her side, "You're laughter is insufferable."

He immediately felt a dark presence from Eris, though he tried to curb his instincts quickly. She almost looked like a devil, with bright red skin and pointed ears. A black thorny crown balanced on her head, three pointed spikes saluting the skies, though Gohan wasn't sure if it was a crown or just part of her skull. She looked as though she was in her late teens, her stormy grey eyes sharp as she stared down at the boy named Makhai. Though her penetrative gaze didn't seem to faze him, as he continued to snort with laughter.

"Do you cretins mind?!" an older boy with sickly green skin and beetle black eyes snarled from where he was perched by the only window in the chamber, "I'm _trying_ to study!"

Gohan got an even darker feeling from this recruit, his eyes were as deep as black holes, his bald head failing to hide the vein that throbbed angrily in the side of his head. He gave off a domineering presence, even though he was very skinny, his tracksuit hanging off his bones and clashing horribly with his green skin. His pointed features were curled up into a sneer, as a loud booming voice cut across them.

"Give it up Deimos, you've been reading that book for weeks, if it's not getting through that thick skull of yours now then it never will."

The voice belonged to the figure that had been blasted out into the tunnel, as he effortlessly jumped over the fallen debris and landed gracefully in the centre of the room, his stance strong and a smirk playing on his lips.

The halfling's eyes widened, now _this_ is what he pictured a future God of Destruction to look like. The young man was in his late teens, his muscles bulging underneath the fabric of his tracksuit. Gohan could clearly see the outline of his pectorals and six-pack, his hench shoulders almost reaching his ears. The older teen was the sheer definition of a warrior, with dark tanned skin, brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard. His eyes were the brightest of blue, that glinted with the fire of the thousands of warriors that had come before him. He was incredibly tall, possibly even taller than Piccolo.

Deimos seethed in anger, before Makhai cut across him, "What's that Kratos? Just like you're never going to snog Bia? If you're not in there now mate then you'll never -"

"Will you shut that gaping _hole_ you call a mouth!" The warrior Kratos roared, as a sudden calmness engulfed the room.

The source it seemed, was that of the young woman who all but glided between them. Gohan felt tingly all of a sudden, but he wasn't sure whether it was because of some kind of power she had or due to the fact that she was incredibly beautiful. The older girl had skin the colour of snow, her white blonde hair fixed into two plats that almost reached the floor.

Her golden eyes surveyed the others curiously, "Come now, can't we all just get along?"

"Bia, just let the muscle heads fight it out," a much younger girl chimed from where she was lounging in one of the plush armchairs, polishing a wooden bow, "They'll get tired eventually."

She looked closest to Gohan's age, much to his relief. She was small and petite, humanoid with lilac skin and ebony hair and eyes.

"Aha!" Kratos laughed confidently, slipping into an unfamiliar fighting stance, "Yes you're quite right Alala, but which one of us shall tire first?"

"That was a rhetorical question right?" The devil-like Eris said in a bored manner, not even bothering to get into any sort of stance, "Because we all already know the answer to that."

"Will you all be _quiet_! I'm trying to-!"

"Oh dear, not this again," Whis muttered under his breath, before calling out in a sharp tone, "Alright! That's quite enough!"

The six recruits immediately jumped to attention, whirling around as the came face to face with the pair watching the scene unfold.

"Master Whis!" Kratos was the first to speak, bowing respectfully, as he and Whis stepped through the hole, "I apologise, we did not see you come in."

"Sorry about the wall, we got a little carried away," Makhai cringed, before inclining his thumb towards Eris, "Or more like princess overboard did over here."

The red skinned princess glared, "Why you insolent-!"

"No need to apologise, as always, it is easily fixed," Whis smiled, before tapping his sceptre with a chink.

Gohan watched with awe, as the bricks sprang back together, and the wall was repaired in an instant.

"Now I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your morning scuffle, but I wanted to draw your attention to our new recruit, this is Gohan," the Angel chimed pleasantly, inclining his head towards the half-saiyan.

The pre-teen suddenly felt incredibly nervous, as all eyes averted to him in a mixture of curiosity and shock.

As before Kratos was able to summon his voice first, "This is the new recruit? Forgive me Master, but isn't he a little young?"

"Yeah, how old are you kid? Like twelve?" The ginger haired Makhai observed, leaning over and poking him in the shoulder as if to see if he was real or not.

"I'm eleven actually," Gohan mustered meekly, as the group gave each other a bemused look.

"I assure you that age is simply but a number in relation to power," interrupted Whis much to the young saiyan's relief, at least he had faith in him. The others looked away guiltily, as the deity continued, "And I won't hear no more about it. Now, I'll give you all four takks to show Gohan to his bed and get him settled. After that I want you to meet me in the meadow for your training session."

They nodded obediently as Whis took his leave, but not before giving the halfling a reassuring wink. The young saiyan gulped, without the presence of his new master by his side he suddenly felt very alone, and exposed. The apprentices were staring at him, and seem to have been for quite some time. He gave them a nerves smile, though clutched onto the ragged purple gi in his palms for dear life.

"So, it's Gohan is it?" Makhai spoke, eyeing him up and down.

Gohan nodded, as the older boy grinned.

"Well, what's your story?"

"My story?" he asked, confused.

The younger girl with a crossbow, Alala, sighed behind him, "He's asking you how you died."

"Oh…" the halfling mustered, the groups eyes widening at the look on his face.

"Ah, so you're a fresh one," Makhai observed guilty, "Sorry, I didn't know. How long ago did it happen?"

"Today," he said glumly.

"Crikey!" the ginger boy gasped, showing off his fanged teeth, "Whis works fast! I've only been dead thirty years and I thought I was a youngling. The rest of us have been dead centuries and we only got recruited over the last few years!"

Gohan couldn't believe what he was hearing. Some of them had been dead for _centuries_?!

"Yes thank you Makhai," Kratos drawled in annoyance, hard eyes not leaving the pre-teen, "Will you hurry up and show the rookie to his bed so that we can get a move on?"

"Righto!" he saluted cheekily, before grabbing Gohan by the arm and dragging him up one of the spiralling staircases.

The young saiyan didn't have time to protest, as Makhai was extremely fast, whizzing them up the staircase so quickly that Gohan didn't think that his feet had touched the ground even once. When they reached the top, the halfling was finally able to take in his surroundings, albeit a little windswept. He was a little surprised to find that they were shared sleeping quarters, with four double beds lined up neatly in a row, two either side, making a pathway to an enormous window that looked over a beautiful glistening lake. The vast amber sky cast a light orange hue over the room, illuminating the oak furniture that sat at the back wall. Each bed came with its own night stand to the side of it, and three out of the four beds already had clothes and blankets strung over it, along with textbooks piled high on one of the stands. Gohan could make out a cold stone room off to the left, which he guessed were the showering quarters and bathroom. He reasoned that the other staircase must lead to the girls chamber.

"And this is you," Makhai smiled, tapping the mattress closest to the window.

The young saiyan followed him, sitting on the bed and staring out at the amber sky in awe. The chamber was certainly grand, the whole planet in fact, much grander than his humble little cottage in the mountains back on Earth. He pre-teen wasn't entirely certain he could get used to it.

Curiously, he opened one of the draws on his new nightstand, and was surprised to find that there were more clean tracksuits and underwear, along with a toothbrush and some soap.

"Yeah," Makhai sighed, watching him, "We don't take much with us when we die, except the clothes on our back if you're lucky enough, so Whis takes care of the rest. One of life's lessons I suppose. What's that you got there?"

Gohan looked up, as the older boy gestured to the purple fabric he was still clutching onto tightly.

"Ahh," Makhai winced, closing his eyes, "Sorry about that kid. Must be a sore subject for Whis to let you keep it though, he practically blasted my clothes off me when I got here. They were pretty riffy mind you."

"Yeah," the pre-teen sighed, before tucking his old gi into the bottom of his draw. Closing it with a snap, he looked towards his peer, "So, why is everyone dead? Do you have to be dead to become a God of Destruction or something? But Beerus didn't have a halo so-"

"Blimey, you don't know much do you?" he replied with a laugh, "Then again you are just a little tike."

Gohan frowned, he was starting to get annoyed with people commenting on his young age.

"You are right in a way though," Makhai continued, "The recruits are all dead because only the dead can become Gods of Destruction. It's to do with some law that says that we have had to go through the trials of mortals, to have lived through death itself and have burst out the other side in a tornado of fire and glory! Blah blah blah…"

The young saiyan chuckled, as the boy's voice grew more and more dramatic.

"Anyway," he stated, "Once the recruit is chosen, they are trained for a period of time directly under the old God of Destruction and their Angel, until they achieve a divine power and become a God. If they do this then they will be given their life back, but it's not the same as a mortal life. Only The King of All, Lord Zeno, can grant you a deity's life span. Something like that anyway, I'm not that great at studying."

"Studying?" Gohan blinked, his brain trying to process all the information he had just been given.

"Oh yeah," said Makhai, "as well as training, we have to study the laws of the universe, numerous languages, the history of the universe as well as various worlds etc etc. Though it's going to be tougher on you kiddo, we've been here for ages now so we've all had a head start."

His heart sank, if his mother was here she would no doubt be going on a complete rampage in light of the fact that he was already behind.

"Here, you can borrow mine," Makhai smiled kindly, bearing his fangs as he walked over to the bed next to Gohan's and grabbed an enormous pile of thick textbooks and dumped them onto his.

"Uh, thanks?" he blinked, his fingers brushing the ageing spine of an ancient looking volume entitled, _The Hero, Perses._

"Oh I haven't got round to reading that one yet," the older boy informed him with a shrug, "It's none essential reading but Alala found it tucked right at the top of the bookshelf in the common room. She said it was interesting, but I've got better things to do with my time than read about stuffy old war heroes. Read it if you want, or you can give it back to her, as long as you lie and tell her that I've actually read it."

"I'll probably hold onto it for now," said Gohan, the leather bound casing was old and worn, but the halfling had always liked reading about great heroes. It might make him feel less homesick.

"Ugh, don't tell me I'm stuck with another bookworm," Makhai pined with a roll of his eyes, before gesturing to the bed opposite his, "It's bad enough with Deimos, you can't even get up for a piss in the night without him screeching at you to shut up."

"He always reads late at night," the teenager informed him, "He can see in the dark you know, and I mean pitch blackness. It's only right to give you fair warning."

The young saiyan chuckled as Makhai's eyes widened in realisation.

"Oh bugger, it's nearly been four takks!"

"What _are_ takks anyway?" Gohan asked.

"It's like the universal measurement of time," he replied, before frowning, "Wait, where are you from again?"

"Planet Earth."

"Earth?!" he gasped, "In the North Galaxy? Bloody hell you really are out in the sticks!"

Gohan pouted, as Makhai said thoughtfully, "Well I suppose about two takks is equivalent to about five minutes in your lingo."

"Which means?" he asked rather haughtily, this was whole business what going to take a lot of getting used to.

"Which means that we're already late my pint-sized compadre," Makhai smirked, as Gohan's eyes widened in horror, "Lets go!"

* * *

 _24th April, 2018._

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 _Trunkssan766: Great to see you reading even if its not your thing! And I assure you I am the same person in the photos on my profile! XD_

 _WiffleDick678: I will wreck my own if I dont complete it (spoiler alert, I totally will finish it!)_

 _BloodySS2God: Thanks! I always wondered what it would be like if Whis trained Gohan! Hooray for fanfiction!_

 _Morvank the Dark King: Love your review, I really hope so!_

 _victor0606: Thank you!_

 _SUB2WILLNE: Thanks for your review! Glad to see you're reading though its not your thing! To answer your question, this is fully a Gohan centric story as Gohan as the main character. But Videl will play a huge role later on in the story. Prepare for romance!_

 _Aaron Leach: Thanks!_

 _TheRangerBoy: glad you think so!_

 _SeanHicks4: yes there needs to be more love for Gohan as a serious fighter!_

 _Ryu-kanjin: Eek! thanks for your review! You made me excited!_

 _tabriggs1975: thank you so much! Hope you stick around!_

 _TS24: so glad you think so! cheers!_

 _JohnyGlockeater: I'll try my best to update frequently! That is the plan!_

 _ICHeart : wow thank you!_

 _arinst2305: thanks so much!_


	3. Kratos The Great

_Thank you all so so much for the follows and reviews! I am so excited for this story. I am so glad that you are loving it so far, hopefully you will continue to! xD For those who may be interested, I have written a little background for each of the recruits so it will make it clearer as the story unfolds as to ages etc. Their backgrounds and how they came to be on Beerus' planet will become more clear. And yes, I went overboard with greek mythology, but they are training to be Gods - duh! ;) Stay tuned! ES x_

* * *

 _ **recruits backgrounds and meanings**_

 _ **Alala** _

_Name meaning: (Ancient Greek "battle-cry" or "war-cry"), was the personification of the war cry in Greek mythology._

 _Age: 15 years._

 _Years Alive: Age 450 - 463_

 _Years Dead: 304 years in Age 767_

 _Former Residence: Grand Kai's Planet_

 _Home Planet: Polemos, South Galaxy_

 _Occupation: Assassin_

 _Appearance: Lilac skin and dark eyes and hair, small and petite._

 _ **Bia** _

_Name meaning: The goddess or personified spirit of force, power, might, bodily strength and compulsion._

 _Age: 19 years._

 _Years Alive: Age 502 - 521_

 _Years Dead: 246 in Age 767_

 _Former Residence: Grand Kai's Planet_

 _Home Planet: Themis, East Galaxy_

 _Occupation: Warrior_

 _Appearance: Snow white skin and white blonde hair and yellow eyes. Very beautiful, like a goddess._

 _ **Eris**_

 _Name meaning: The Greek goddess of strife and discord._

 _Age: 17 years_

 _Years Alive: Age 599 - 618_

 _Years Dead: 149 Years in 767_

 _Former Residence: HFIL_

 _Home Planet: Enyo, East Galaxy_

 _Occupation: Evil Empress/Warrior_

 _Appearance: Wild, untameable ashy hair, red skin, pointed ears and fangs, like a devil._

 _ **Kratos**_

 _Name Meaning: Ancient Greek: "Power"_

 _Age: 18 years_

 _Years Alive: Age 412 - 430_

 _Years Dead: 337 years in Age 767_

 _Former Residence: Grand Kai's Planet_

 _Home Planet: Styx, West Galaxy_

 _Occupation: Warrior/Leader of a battalion_

 _Appearance: Built like a warrior god. Tallest of everyone. Brown hair and beard, bright blue eyes, tanned skin. Almost looked human, but he was must taller than the average man back on earth._

 _ **Makhai**_

 _Name Meaning: the spirits of battle in Greek mythology_

 _Age: 16 years_

 _Years Alive: Age 721 - 737_

 _Years Dead: 30 years in Age 767_

 _Former Residence: HFIL_

 _Home Planet: Lethe, North Galaxy._

 _Occupation: Outlaw_

 _Appearance: Tall, lean muscled. Ginger hair, pale skin, golden eyes. Pointed ears and fangs with long claws._

 _ **Deimos**_

 _Name Meaning: Ancient Greek meaning dread - the god of terror in Greek mythology. Deimos served to represent the feelings of dread that befell those in the midst of battle._

 _Age: 18 years_

 _Years Alive: Age 522 - 540_

 _Years Dead: 227 years in Age 767_

 _Former Residence: HFIL_

 _Home Planet: Formid, South Galaxy_

 _Occupation: War-Lord_

 _Appearance: Skinny, pointed features. Bald. Sickly green skin and eyes as dark as a black hole. Domineering presence, creepy. Tracksuit looked as though it was hanging off him, though he seemed not to care and it classed horribly with his sickly green skin._

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

 **Kratos The Great**

 **xxxx**

The rest of the recruits were already waiting for them in the meadow when they arrived, Gohan puffing and panting behind Makhai as he had used his quick speed to race them both out of the sleeping quarters and rush to the other side of the planet. Whis stood in front of the teenagers, who were lined up in a neat row obediently. He surveyed them in amusement as they approached them, the young saiyan's clothes were rather crumpled and his hair dishevelled, though Makhai looked as though he had only taken a leisurely stroll.

"And then there were seven, my what a powerful number," observed Whis as they got into line with the others, who did not look impressed by their tardiness, "Late again Makhai? A God of Destruction must never be late you know. It's a mystery as to how you're not always the first one here with that speed of yours."

"Sorry Master Whis," Makhai said with a charming fanged smile, "Gohan needed to relieve himself and we had to stop on the way, I _told_ him to go before we left, but you know how kids are."

"That's not true!" The halfling yelled hotly, as their peers snorted with laughter.

"Settle down everyone," Whis called firmly, as Gohan silently fumed, "Let's get on with our first lesson of the day."

Everyone stood to complete attention, determination in their eyes.

"The first step to understanding one's power is learning the extent of it," The deity informed them, "Only then will you be able to harness it, control it and use it to carry out your duty to the Gods and to the universe."

The recruits were listening intently, Gohan too, but he was confused when Whis stopped short and focussed his gaze upon him, giving him a knowing smile. "As you are our newest recruit Gohan, I think it's best for you to sit out for a moment and observe."

The pre-teen frowned, as he caught sight of Eris and Deimos smirking at him, whilst Kratos gave him a triumphant look.

"A wise choice Master," said Kratos the warrior, "Our training sessions can get quite brutal, it would be dishonourable of me to allow such a child to get hurt unnecessarily."

Whis' smile seemed to get even wider as he signalled for Gohan to make himself comfortable on a nearby boulder. The young saiyan stomped away haughtily, before doing as he was told and plonking himself down on the smooth rock and folding his arms across his chest in a huff. His onyx eyes remained focussed on his new master, aiming to learn something from the lesson at hand, even if he wasn't allowed to join in. It wasn't as though he wasn't used to this treatment. He had experienced villains and fighters alike making fun of his age all his life, and often he was sat on the sidelines because he was deemed too young or weak to join in. Still, he wasn't about to let those gits get to him. A sudden fierceness ignited within him, making him determined to prove them all wrong and show them that he wasn't some kind of joke that Whis had plucked out of the space sticks just for the recruits amusement.

"Now, I want you all to power up to your maximum, if you please," The deity ordered, and it seemed as though the deceased teens didn't need to be told twice.

Immediately, Gohan's senses were assaulted with mind boggling energy. He had to hold onto the boulder to stop himself from toppling over, as at once did the apprentices aura spring to life, blowing the air away from them with a sonic boom and lighting up the meadow in an array of multicolour. Kratos, he was unsurprised to find, was far higher than the rest of the group. His white aura grew around his muscular frame rapidly, licking at his body like flames. Alala, though the youngest save for Gohan, was the second strongest much to his awe. Violet crackles of light exploded around her, the wind grabbing at her long ebony hair in waves. He could sense a crippling dark presence emitting from both Eris and Deimos, which was a stark contrast to Makhai and Bia's bright energy that seemed to level out the darkness.

They were all incredibly powerful, that was a given. It was truly a sight to behold.

"Like what you see?" Kratos jested, and it was only then did Gohan realise that his mouth was hanging open.

"Aw look at his face," Bia cooed sweetly, a silver glow encompassing her slender body, "Maybe he has not seen power like this before."

"Gohan, you may join the others now," Whis chimed, his eyes glinting in the vast array of light that illuminated the planes, "and the rest of you can power down."

They seemed confused by this, though obliged, their auras dissipating in an instant as soon as Gohan approached. The young saiyan was rather sceptical also, was Whis going to make him fight them all at once as some kind of initiation? Even so, why did he make them power up and back down again? Did he want to show him just what he was up against?

"I want you to power up to your first transformation please," instructed the deity, as all eyes turned towards him.

The halfling frowned at first, but thought it best to just do as he was told. With an abrupt shout, he unleashed his Ki, the energy spreading like wildfire through his veins. His ebony hair turned golden in an instant, wavering in the breeze suddenly created by his shining golden aura. His onyx orbs swirled with colour, before they settled on a vibrant emerald green. Gohan exhaled deeply, before turning towards his mentor with curious eyes.

"W-What is that?!" Eris gaped, as the power washed over her, the others too were similarly dazzled.

"It's a super saiyan," Whis explained, causing Deimos to splutter.

"A _saiyan_ you say?! I thought they were extinct! The text of modern history states - "

"There were a few survivors to their planets destruction, including Gohan's father," the Angel informed them, "Gohan is half-saiyan."

Though Whis didn't give the apprentices any more time to ask questions, as he turned to Gohan and stated, "Your maximum power, if you please."

"Um alright," he replied, before he stance stood wider and a loud guttural roar escaped his chest.

Makhai squeaked, as an enormous wind picked up around them, blowing the group back from the force. Only Whis remained firmly in place, seemingly unaffected by the gail force that suddenly struck the meadow. The ground beneath Gohan's feet began to pick up, and pebbles, dirt and bits of grass swirled around his rapidly growing aura. Storm clouds began to form overhead, emitting a bellowing thunder that intermingled with the young saiyans screams. Lightening bolts struck the ground, seemingly merging with the swell of energy surrounding him, snapping at the air like a cobra. His lean muscles bulged, his golden hair spiking further atop of his head, leaving a stubborn bang wavering over his now hardened emerald eyes. Slowly, the screams stopped and the rocks and debris fell to rest at his feet. The only sound his pulsating aura, that jolted and crackled with electricity as he cast his gaze back over the meadow. He couldn't help but allow a triumphant grin to play on his lips, the enormous gain in power going to his head slightly. The other recruits were staring at him with a mixture of shock and awe, every single one on their backsides, their jaws practically on the floor.

"T-that's _insane_!" Makhai gaped, his golden eyes blinking rapidly at the eleven year old, "How the bloody hell did he manage to obtain all that power at his age?!"

"It's impossible!" Eris spat.

"Ah Makhai, Eris, I told you that age is just a number in terms of power," said Whis, giggling slightly at the look on their faces, "Now which one of you wants to fight him?"

Gohan looked towards his mentor in surprise, "What, really? You want me to fight?"

"What's the matter kid? Don't want to get your hands dirty so soon?" Kratos spoke suddenly, clambering to his feet and smirking at the young saiyan, "I'll fight him first Master, I want to see just what _all that power_ can do against me."

The blonde haired Bia turned her head in alarm, "Kratos, are you sure that is wise? He is but a boy. Not to mention it's his first day here!"

"Then it will be a perfect test of his strength," The large warrior retorted, standing across the meadow from him, "Unless he's too scared."

"I'm not scared of you," Gohan retorted boldly, even though he could sense a well of energy deep within Kratos' power, which made him realise that the teenager had been holding back when Whis had told them to power up to maximum. But why? Maybe Kratos' power was too great to unleash fully, and he didn't want to destroy the planet in the process of him increasing his energy.

The pre-teen gulped, oh how he wished his brain hadn't had thought that.

"I believe there's your answer Kratos," Whis smiled pleasantly, "We'd better give them some room. Have fun boys."

Gohan caught Makhai give him a sympathetic look before he took off with Whis and the others so that they could watch the fight from a distance. But no sooner had they created some distance, was Kratos upon him.

The young saiyan reacted quickly, his senses heightened from his ascended transformation. Faster than lightening, Gohan caught his opponents deadly fist in his palm creating a sonic boom that echoed over the vast landscape. The blades of grass dispersed around them, forming a small crater around their feet. He saw a glimmer of surprise within Kratos' eyes, before it was replaced with a fierce determination and his shining white aura exploded around him, pushing the youngster back a few feet. Kratos growled, his fists positively glowing with white hot energy as he unleashed rapid fire upon the halfling.

Gohan dodged and ducked out of the way, before parrying his attackers fist and delivering a spinning kick straight to his gut. Kratos coughed up a wad of blood and saliva, and the pre-teen thought he heard Makhai cheer for him when the deceased warrior quickly recovered and sped towards him in a flurry of limbs that the young saiyan narrowly avoided.

He was quick, and his energy seemed to be increasing with every passing moment. Kratos snarled, launching himself at the boy and prompting Gohan to phase out. Though this time, the older recruit was ready for him to reappear, and clocked him straight in the jaw. The sound of knuckles on jaw ricocheted over the meadow, the force of impact causing Gohan's head to spin. But the halfling wasn't going to let the warrior get away with landing a hit so easily, and instead followed up in his own attack, flipping himself over the older boy and delivering a powerful uppercut to his chin. Kratos stumbled, catching himself quickly before kicking off from the ground and careening towards Gohan, who was already waiting for him. The young saiyan unleashed rapid fire, sizzling yellow Ki balls erupting from his palms in a unrelenting barrage. But to his annoyance, his attack all but left smoking craters in the once beautiful meadow below, as Kratos phased in and out, dodging the blasts effortlessly.

"All that power is nothing without experience!" came a sudden shout from behind him.

Gohan whirled around quickly, catching Kratos' outstretched palm as it made to strike his neck. "I've got plenty, thanks," he spat back, causing the older recruit to scoff.

"Been fighting for longer than three-hundred years like me have you, child?" Kratos replied, clearly amused as he easily broke free of the young saiyan's hold, twisting in mid-air.

"No, but that doesn't mean that I can't win!" he growled, blasting his golden aura further around him.

In a flash, the young saiyan was upon him, though their fists collided in mid-air, their knees connected, each blow met with an oncoming blow. They danced around each other, drawn like moths to a flame, before clashing and sending tremors rippling across the entire planet. Boulders crumpled to the ground and the dirt shook apart beneath them as the fight continued, the entire world was trembling. Finally, they sprang apart, panting, bloodied and exhausted. Though Kratos was still smirking.

"You've got spirit little one, but it's not enough to defeat me!"

And then it was as though a volcano had erupted. The young man's aura grew steadily, doubling, no _tripling_ in size. The wind howled as Kratos let out an earth quaking roar, his power increasing to nigh impossible heights. Gohan gasped, as his senses were assaulted by the teenager's power, his white aura suddenly changing colour and glowing an alarming red.

The halfling grit his teeth, steadying himself through the roaring winds when suddenly, the ground burst open below them and sharp jagged rocks erupted from the planet's surface. Jumping high into the air, Gohan avoided the deadly spikes as they careened towards him. But Kratos wasn't finished, as bigger, longer, sharper pieces of rock shot towards him. He couldn't even contemplate just how Kratos was manipulating the world like that, though he guessed it was through some kind of training with Whis. Flipping himself over, the young super saiyan narrowly dodged a spike that whizzed between his legs.

That was _way_ too close for comfort.

A surge of anger swelled within him, he was already at his limit, yet Kratos was somehow getting _stronger_. He could feel Whis and the other's eyes burning into him, but Gohan was not going to give into their expectations and allow himself to fail. He had already failed enough today.

Another spike hurtled towards him, but this time, the young boy was ready - and charged. With a battle cry, Gohan leapt onto the offending rock and ran along it, using it as momentum to kick off from and launch himself towards oncoming fist barely brushed the older boy's cheek when he was flung backwards by an explosive wave created by his crimson aura. Gohan cried out in both frustration and in pain, as Kratos cracked his knee into his sternum, before following up with a hammer fist to the skull. The halfling's entire body jolted as he crashed to the ground with an enormous shockwave, creating a smouldering crater in the soil. He was seeing stars, as what felt like a hundred tons of solid steel collided with his stomach, and it took him a moment to realise that Kratos had landed upon him, his bulging legs either side of his torso.

"Come on young warrior!" he laughed almost jubilantly, "I thought you were trying to prove your worth!"

Gohan grit his teeth, as Kratos' fists met his face. His knuckles collided relentlessly with his cheekbones, again, again and again. He was pretty certain that his nose was broken.

"Kratos! Stop this!" he heard Bia cry from above, "Stop this at once!"

He clamped his jaw tightly shut to avoid biting his tongue off, as Kratos continued his beating. The sheer weight of the large young man almost too much to pair itself. His red aura was so hot that it was almost burning him, beats of sweat trickled down his face and intermingled with the blood that poured from the gashes in his face. Gohan was angry, frustrated, and if his heart were still beating then he was certain that it would be pounding against his ribcage. His head was spinning, how was he losing so badly? He couldn't help but think what Mister Piccolo would think of him now. It was supposed to be a friendly spar, but there was nothing friendly about it. Not the way Kratos was goading him, taunting him, like he had to prove a point that _he_ was the strongest and Gohan was nothing more than a weakling. What had he ever done to him? It reminded him of -

 _Gohan, why don't we give your engine a jump start?_

Cell.

The pre-teen's eyes snapped open, as if something clicked within his mind and a loathing so intense flooded his veins, along with a blind fury so intense that it ignited his golden aura back around him. Yet this time, it exploded outwards, rising high into the sky like a beacon of brilliant light. Kratos was immediately fired into the air by the sheer force as Gohan screamed with overwhelming power that echoed over the meadow. Bolts of sizzling electricity rippled over his muscles, but they were denser, blue rather than silver and crackled around his aura in bigger waves. The light began to settle, the golden hue of energy returning to his normal pulsating volume, yet Gohan's entire body was engulfed in a blue glow that emitted small particles into the air. His pupils were invisible, his spikey gold hair even wilder, as he cast his gaze over to a rather flabbergasted Kratos.

"How's this for proof?" The halfling snarled through gritted teeth, his emerald green pupils slowly coming back into focus.

Though he did not give Kratos change to answer, as before the older teen knew it, Gohan had kicked off from the ground and fired himself into the air, slamming his almighty fist into his jaw. Kratos was forcibly propelled backwards through the skies, his eyes wide as he crashed through a row of mountains, leaving a destructive path in his wake. Not letting up, the young saiyan sped after him, catching up to him before he reached the dark forest. Gohan's foot embedded itself into his gut with a loud boom, causing his crimson aura to disperse completely.

Kratos roared in anger, as the young super saiyan batted him away with another powerful strike to the chest, flinging him high above him before cupping his hands by his side in a familiar stance.

"Ka…Meh…!"

"No! Not yet!" Kratos bellowed, screeching to a halt and gathering a scarlet blast above his head.

"Ha…Meh…-!"

The bright blue swirl of energy grew in his palms, his hardened gaze set on the figure above him. Yet, just when he was about to unleash the super wave, did a gentle hand touch him on the shoulder.

"I think that's a time out," came Whis' light tone.

Gohan snapped to his senses immediately, his golden and blue aura dispersing in a flash of light as he whirled around to face the deity whose eyes were positively twinkling in delight. Kratos too, had powered down at the appearance of their master. He floated opposite the pre-teen, panting heavily as his arms came to rest by his sides. The young saiyan gulped, his anger dissipating as he looked at the destruction surrounding him. The once magnificent meadow now resembled a battle zone, with several craters embedded into the dirt, the grass and flowers completely burned away by the sheer heat of the fighter's energies. The mountain range in the distance was smoking and pretty much reduced to rubble, and Gohan and Kratos were in no better shape. Their once pristine tracksuits were torn and bloodied, with several scorch marks having ruined the fabric.

The older boy glared at him across the half destroyed meadow, before he promptly spat on the ground and flew back to camp. He winced as he watched him go. Gohan wasn't certain just what had came over him, but a guilty feeling crept it's way into the pit of his stomach as he looked at the mess he had made. He dropped out of his transformation, his hair returning to it's usual ebony and his green eyes back to onyx as Whis spoke.

"It's just as I thought," he said knowingly, "There is still much depth to your power left unexplored."

The halfling blinked, tearing his gaze away from Kratos' retreating form, "R-really?"

"Oh yes," Whis smiled, "At that last moment you ascended past your previous limits. I'm sorry that I had to stop your fight, but I didn't want you to burn yourself out so quickly. It would be best to master your super saiyan two transformation before you try to reach the third."

"You're saying that there's _another_ level?" Gohan gaped.

"Well I wasn't quite sure at first," said Whis, "But your fight with Kratos just now only assured me that you can go much further beyond, there are greater strengths hidden within yet to be untapped young one. Believe me when I say that your little power up was nowhere near the next level of super saiyan strength, but you were certainly more powerful than a super saiyan two as you rightly call it. I doubt that is a saiyan's final form."

"W-wow," the pre-teen mustered. He knew he had hidden strengths, his father and Piccolo had always harped on about it, but he had thought that he had unleashed everything against Cell. He never would have thought that there could be _more_. Vegeta would have a heart attack if he knew that there was yet another level to the super saiyan transformation as Whis at surmised.

"I'll try my best Master Whis, I want to get stronger," Gohan said determinately, causing the Angel to beam.

"That I have no doubt of," he grinned, before waving his staff over the patches of craters below him. To his delight and relief, the meadow and the surrounding forest and mountains returned to normal, fully repaired as if no battle had taken place.

"Now, how's about that food I promised you?" asked Whis pleasantly, glancing over his shoulder, "Though I can't guarantee a peaceful meal, you've caused quite the stir amongst the other recruits."

Slowly, the young saiyan turned, catching sight of the flabbergasted young warriors on the ground, each of them a little singed.

* * *

"GREAT GALAXIES HOW MUCH DO YOU EAT?!"

If he wasn't already dead, Gohan felt as though he had died and gone to heaven. A vast array of glorious smelling foods had awaited him when Whis had dropped him off at the camp, now fully healed thanks to a quick wave of his staff. He silently wondered if there was anything that Whis _couldn't_ do.

The banquet room resembled some kind of mess hall, situated a little further down the tunnel from the common room. The young saiyan practically drooled at the sight of plates and platters of delicacies that were laid out on a long wooden table in the centre of the hall. He didn't even give the others chance to sit when he had raced forwards and pulled up a chair, devouring everything within reach. Gohan was so hungry that all of his manners went completely out of the window, his mother would surely scold him if she saw him, as the halfling hadn't even bothered to pick up a knife and fork.

Still, he hadn't eaten since breakfast before The Cell Games, and even then he had barely eaten a thing, he felt far too sick and nervous. His father on the other hand had eaten his body weight in breakfast items, as not even the fate of the world could stop that man from eating.

Given the desperate circumstances, the halfling allowed himself to go to town on the feast in front of him. He didn't even recognise what he was eating, none of the items were of Earth that was for certain. But he quickly found that he didn't care, as he pulled another alien looking pig towards him and tore one of it's legs off the carcass. He only looked up from his meal when he heard Makhai shriek in horror.

He smiled sheepishly through his mouthful, as he realised the rest of the recruits were staring at him in disbelief. Kratos had not joined them, which had troubled Gohan up until all his brain could think about was food.

He swallowed heavily, before taking a breath, "Sorry, I'm just really _really_ hungry. I haven't eaten since I died."

"I gathered," Eris growled, before sitting furthest away from him with a disgusted look upon her face, "You _do_ realise that snout-beast is for all of us right?"

"Oops," Gohan cringed, looking down at the half eaten pig, or snout-beast as it was called, but his apology was shortly cut off by an enormous belch that escaped his chest, "Hehe, excuse me."

"Revolting," the green-skinned Deimos scoffed, picking up his own plate and distancing himself from the boy's carnage.

"I think Whis underestimated just how much you saiyans can eat!" Makhai laughed, plonking himself next to Gohan and helping himself to the feast, "He certainly didn't underestimate your power though that's for certain."

The pre-teen blushed slightly, as Bia and Alala took a place opposite him.

"Quite right," the glowing blonde smiled warmly, "I must say that I didn't think you would be able to stand up to Kratos, he is an exceptional warrior."

"I gathered," said Gohan honestly, "He's even stronger than Cell. And I could still sense that he was holding back."

"Cell?" Alala quirked, "Was that the warrior who killed you?"

He nodded, his hands balling up into fists, "Except that Cell was no warrior, he was a monster."

Makhai whistled through the tension that had suddenly engulfed the room, "Sounds intense, he must have been powerful to have sent you packing off to Otherworld."

"Yeah," he mustered meekly, the feeling of death was still far too raw. He didn't want to remember the distraught look in Piccolo's eyes as he faded from the Earth forever, so he briskly changed the subject. "Does Kratos hate me or something?"

Bia and Alala chuckled, as Makhai shot him a wicked grin, "Nah, just ignore that big brute. He might be the strongest of us at the moment, but if you want my opinion it was starting to go to his head. You just damaged his pride is all."

"Hate is a strong word," said Alala, "I think a strong dislike is more appropriate. Kratos doesn't trust people easily."

"Why not?" asked Gohan, his food now abandoned on his plate.

Bia sighed, "Kratos was not always the hardened warrior you see before you once upon a time."

"Yeah, legend has it that he once used to smile," Makhai jested, though he was silenced by the young woman's penetrative yellow eyes.

"Many centuries ago," Bia continued, "Long before you were born young one, Kratos was a valiant warrior, a hero. Born on the planet Styx in the Western province of our universe, he rose quickly through the ranks of his people's most elite army. At just eighteen, he commanded an entire fleet of ten thousand soldiers, and led them to victory against man foes. He became known as Kratos The Great throughout the galaxy. He was the strongest of his people, but his second in command, Zelus, grew jealous of his power and glory and betrayed him."

Gohan's eyes widened, as she took a deep breath, a sadness about her.

"He unleashed a great evil upon Styx, an ancient beast that Kratos had defeated and imprisoned some years prior. It slaughtered the entire army, his friends, his family. When Kratos found out who was responsible for such destruction, it nearly broke him. He no choice but to take out his comrade, his best friend, his brother in arms - but it was still too late. The monster was too powerful, and destroyed the planet, taking Kratos with it. Because of his acts of heroism, Kratos was granted his body and an afterlife of training on the Grand Kai's planet. But that betrayal lay heavy on his heart, and it changed him. Kratos channelled his anger into getting stronger, reaching heights that his race had only ever dreamed of, all because he couldn't save them. He had trusted Zelus like he had never trusted anyone before, or since."

"It took him a long time to warm up to us," said Makhai, "Especially Eris, and I still believe he doesn't trust Deimos."

Deimos snorted, "Like I care."

"That's awful," said Gohan, feeling a little bad for taking out so much anger on the young man, "But why did he want to fight me so badly?"

"He could see a power in you to rival his," Bia replied with a small smile, "He is gifted like that, just like how I am with reading a persons innermost feelings. He wanted to test you, to see how much more powerful he would have to get to widen the gap."

"He just didn't bet on the gap being so small," Alala winked, "Let alone you able to match him."

"Yeah you've got a right temper on you haven't you?" Makhai started, nudging him in the ribs, "Especially for someone so short."

"Careful what you say Makhai," Eris spouted darkly across the table, "He might go super on you if you upset him, and I doubt you will come out of it unscathed, as weak as you are."

"Weak am I?" the ginger haired boy guffawed, "I think that knock to the head you suffered in our spar last week damaged your brain oh mighty princess."

Eris snarled, her dark eyes flashing menacingly as Makhai gave the young saiyan a wink, "I do have to agree though, better not tickle the sleeping beast within, eh sparky?"

Gohan pouted at the nickname he had been given, as Alala giggled.

"I mean it though," he continued, "For someone who looked so meek an innocent when he first arrived, you are one pretty tough kid."

"Save your complements for another time," Eris scoffed, "He has yet to embark on any real training."

"Real training?" the young saiyan blinked, wondering what she meant by that. It had certainly felt real enough when Kratos was pounding his face into the dirt.

"Oh yeah," said Makhai with a small burst of laughter, "Just you wait little man, if you think that was tough, you ain't seen nothing yet."

The rest of dinner went by without much more fuss, though Gohan decided to keep his manners more in check for the sake of the other recruits. He actually enjoyed just sitting and listening to their banter, and tell stories of the epic battles from centuries ago. He was grateful for Bia, who diverged the conversation away from him, whether it was due to her strange powers or not, she sensed that he wasn't quite ready to talk about how he came to meet his end just yet.

He had learned that she was the oldest in terms of actual living age, being nineteen years old when she had died. She was certainly the motherly figure of the group, and was well accomplished in telekinesis, enabling her to envelope calmness when there conflict, and empathise with others thoughts and feelings.

Deimos hadn't stayed long, the despondent teen had retreated back to the boys sleeping quarters as soon as he had cleared his plate. Eris had stopped furiously away to her chambers after Makhai had started teasing her about their last sparring match again, but not before calling him an arrogant peasant. One by one they left, until it was just Gohan and Makhai, the latter ushering him up to bed so they could get some much needed rest. Of course, the older boy had offered to tuck him in and read him a bedtime story, in which the young saiyan had promptly told him to stick said story up his backside.

Kratos was already asleep when they had crept into the shared bedroom, and Gohan could make out the silhouette of his hulking stature rising up and down in a gentle motion in the bed across from his. Deimos was still awake just as Makhai had said, if the sound of turning pages was anything to go by.

The halfling quickly stripped himself of his tracksuit, and slipped on the silky gold pyjamas that had been neatly folded on his bed. Slipping in between the sheets, he realised that it was possibly the most comfiest bed he had ever been in. It felt as though he was lying on a fluffy cloud, his whole body sinking into the soft mattress and feather filled pillows, it was as though he was floating on air.

What a weird day.

He let out a contended sigh, his belly now full and his hunger satisfied. Finally, he closed his eyes, willing himself into his dreams. But as much as he tried, as tired and achy as he was, he just couldn't seem to switch his brain off.

It had been a day of firsts after all. The first time he had been away from home, his family, in a very long time. It was the first time he had saved the Earth singlehandedly. It was the first time he hadn't celebrated with the Z-Fighters after the battle dust had settled. It was the first time he had truly let his fury take hold. It was the first time he had completely lost control…

It was first time he had died.

"Will you _stop_ fidgeting!" Deimos hissed angrily from across the room as Gohan rolled over for what felt like the tenth time in an attempt to get to sleep, "I can't hear myself think!"

"S-sorry," the pre-teen mustered meekly, squinting in the darkness, "I can't sleep."

"Well either sleep or get out," the green-skinned recruit spat snidely over his textbook, the other two boys fast asleep, "It's bad enough that we have to put up with Makhai's snoring without your insufferable twitching as well."

Gohan sighed heavily, before clambering out of bed and taking his leave, his bare feet padding on the cold stone steps as he made his way back into the common room, ignoring Deimos' irritated muttering. It looked almost eerie at night, the plush armchairs casting shadows over the hard stone floor. Slowly, he made his way over to the enormous window that stretched from floor to ceiling, and perched himself on the windowsill. Lord Beerus' world looked even more spectacular in the dead of night, and he could see the stars and galaxies that surrounded it, hanging brightly in a deep purple sky.

Had they tried to wish him back by now?

If he knew is family and friends, they would be desperate to wish both him and his father back to life. He closed his eyes, feeling hot tears building suddenly, but he did not allow them to fall. He didn't want to imagine their faces when they had summoned the Eternal Dragon, and his father had appeared but he was nowhere to be found. He doubted Shenron could even reach him here anyway, it was a realm of Gods after all, most likely far beyond the dragon's control.

Goodness, what would his mother say? He hoped she wasn't angry, but he would bet his life that she was distraught - if he wasn't already dead that is. Chi-Chi had ever wanted him to fight in the first place, but even the ever stubborn woman had come to realise that his power was needed to help save the world, else she wouldn't have let him train to fight the androids in the first place, much less The Cell Games.

Goku was resilient of course, he had every faith that his son would win. Just like Whis was so certain that he could get stronger, and become a God.

 _What do you say you win this one for us son? Then we can all go home._

The young saiyan swallowed thickly, he was far too old to be getting upset. Yet in reality he was incredibly homesick. Gohan drew up his knees, resting his arms and head on top of them and staring out into the stars. Would he be allowed home if he failed? Or did the Gods have other plans for him? Kratos would be an excellent candidate to become the next God of Destruction, any of the others even.

Still, failure was not an option. He had too much to prove, both to himself and his father. Piccolo, and even the prince of pride himself would certainly be slapping some sense into him if they heard his thoughts of self doubt. After all, what good was all the power and potential he had inside if he couldn't prevent the universe from collapsing in on itself?

He felt a pang in his heart as a shooting star sped overhead, lighting up the night sky before falling away.

But had he made the right choice?

"It's crazy how common insomnia is on the first night."

Gohan jumped at the sudden girlish voice, whirling around only to come face to face with Alana. She smiled at him gently, placing down the crossbow she had been polishing on the coffee table and getting up from the sofa. She was wearing the same silk pyjamas as he, her long hair tied into a messy bun atop her head. He cringed, he hadn't even noticed her sitting there when he had walked in, he had been too busy wrapped in his own thoughts.

"The first night of what?" he asked, hoping she wouldn't pry, "Being here?"

"No, the first night of being dead silly," she giggled, sitting beside him, "I distinctly remember not sleeping a wink. Granted, my species don't need much sleep anyway."

"Oh," the halfling mustered, "Yeah I suppose it does feel pretty weird. I just feel so…"

"Restless?" she observed wisely, "Don't worry, it'll pass. It's a normal reaction. Your soul should settle soon."

"I hope so," he sighed, looking out into the night once more.

"So, what's eating you?" Alala mustered after a while, folding her arms across her chest and leaning back on the wall behind her.

"I don't want to talk about it."

The girl gave him a pointed look, "You miss your family huh?"

Gohan nodded glumly, "I just wish I could have told them that I was sorry, to explain somehow."

"We've all made mistakes," she informed him, her dark eyes hardening slightly, "Some a lot more than others."

"What do you mean?" he quirked, as the girl's lips held a playful smirk.

"You seem like an intelligent boy," said Alala, "I'm sure you've realised that we didn't all come from the good side. We may all hail from all across the universe but we come from different parts of Otherworld as well."

"Are you saying that some of you went to hell after you died?!" Gohan gasped in shock.

"Oh yeah," she replied, "But you have to remember that for the majority of us that it was many centuries ago, and we repented. People can change, stranger things have happened."

"Where did you go?" he asked suddenly, "You know, after you…"

"Don't look so worried," the girl laughed, "I went to train on the Grand Kai's planet. Although it was close. King Yemma found it hard to judge me. I was an assassin, trained by the mightiest warriors who shaped me into my planets deadliest weapon."

Gohan's eyes widened, as she continued, inclining her head towards her crossbow on the table.

"After one of my mentors was murdered by a rival tribe, I exacted my revenge. It was just me and my arrows against the world, I was unstoppable, and I enjoyed every single one of my kills," she paused, frowning, "But there was something bigger going on. I found out that the mentors that had trained me since I was abandoned as a child were actually the ones that were evil. I was just a pawn in their little game. They wanted to take over the ruling of my planet, and use my skills to get them there. They wanted me to slaughter thousands. I could have done it easily too, but I refused. I didn't want to be controlled anymore, so I rebelled, started a revolt and liberated the Polemonians, my race, from their regime. Afterwards, when I thought Planet Polemos was finally free, they somehow escaped prison and ambushed me, destroying the very thing that they had created."

"How old…?" the halfling asked, his voice tailing of weakly.

"I was fifteen," she smiled back, brushing off his saddened look with a shrug, "Don't feel sad for me Gohan, I've come to terms with my death after over three-hundred years."

"Three- _hundred?_!"

"Something like that," Alala said thoughtfully, "three-hundred and three? four? Huh, I suppose you loose track after all this time."

"That's mental," breathed Gohan, "I really am the youngest here aren't I?"

"By miles," she laughed, "But not too far behind Makhai. And don't take anything he says to heart by the way, he likes to joke around."

"Yeah, I've noticed," the halfling drawled, a thought coming to mind, "So, I'll never age then? I'm stuck being eleven forever?"

"Not necessarily," the ex-assassin informed him, "Because you were so young when you died, you can choose to age as you would if you had lived. It's to do with the rules of Otherworld, in order to give children who die a second chance at life, to grow up. It's nice really. And the rules still apply here even if we are technically in the realm of the living because you're still dead."

"So I have a choice of whether I want to grow up or not?" Gohan gaped, hardly believing his ears.

"You don't have to do anything special," Alala smiled, "You'll continue to age unless you tell Whis or King Yemma that you want to stay as you are. I strongly advise that you allow your body to grow, unless you want to be called shortie forever."

The pre-teen chuckled, his chest feeling a little lighter, "Yeah, I think I might. It would be pretty sad never to grow up."

She sighed, "Yeah, sometimes I regret asking King Yemma to stay in this body. But I never wanted to loose sight of myself, of the person I became before I died. The rest of the recruits chose the same."

"That makes sense," said Gohan, a playful smile spreading across his face, "But you lot aren't as short as me. So I think I'm going to grow up and then tease all of _you_ for being half-pints."

They giggled, before the girl gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"You're alright you know Gohan," she said, her eyes searching him before she grinned, "The others might not see it yet, but give them time. Whis chose you for a reason, he tried to humble us when he asked you to show your power."

"Really?" he blinked, "He would do that?"

"It worked I think," she nodded, "He is fond of you, and there is no doubt that you are strong for your age. All of us are."

The young saiyan knitted his eyebrows in thought, as Alala spoke again, "People like us are destined to serve the universe, and there is no higher honour than that."

"Thanks Alala," he smiled.

"No problem," she yawned, jumping down from the windowsill and giving her arms a good stretch, "In the meantime, train hard. I want to be selected over you when you're at your best at the least."

"I'll try," Gohan chuckled, watching her as she picked up her crossbow and put it over her shoulder.

"And who knows," Alala shrugged, "Maybe you'll get to say sorry to your family one day. Things have a way of coming back to us after all, if not always in the way we expect."

Then, faster than his eyes could follow, did the ex-assassin draw her bow and fire an arrow that embedded into the wall just above his head. Gohan yelped as the razor sharp spear narrowly missed his hair, and was about to ask the girl if she was completely of her rocker when he noticed a familiar blue sash hanging from the arrow.

"You must have dropped that outside the camp when you arrived, figured you might want it back," Alala grinned back at him, "Get some rest newbie, you'll be needing it tomorrow."

And with that, she spun on her heel, making her way up the spiral staircase to her sleeping quarters. Gohan stared after her in disbelief, before coming to his senses and grabbed his old sash, running his fingers over the frayed fabric and shaking his head in amusement. He hadn't even realised he had dropped it, and he knew he would have been incredibly sad should he have lost it.

When he had recovered, the young halfling made his way back to his room, where Makhai's thunderous snores had made themselves known. He could see the silhouette of the boy lying spread eagled on his bed, his chest heaving with each snore. It seemed that the other boys were used to it, as the room seemed still otherwise.

Not wanting to anger Deimos again, and cause any more noise, Gohan crept as tentatively as he could to his bed. But as he finally pulled the covers over him, did an abrupt shout sound from across the room.

"Honestly, does no one have any respect for a persons solitude around here?!" Deimos yelled, before the audible sound of a textbook snapping shut reached his ears and it flew across the room, hitting a sleeping Makhai in the head.

To the young saiyan's surprise, the boy didn't stir, and the snoring stopped altogether.

Well, for about five seconds.

 ** _SSSSNNNNNOOOOOOOORRRREEEEEEEEE_**

"Argh! CURSE YOU!" Deimos cried in exasperation, causing Gohan to erupt into giggles.

"And you can shut up as well you insolent child!" the seething teenager shrieked, it was a wonder how Kratos didn't wake up from the sheer volume of the three boys.

He snorted as Makhai's snoring continued and Deimos proceeded to hurl several heavy books in his direction. Gohan bit his lip, burying his face into the pillow to prevent himself from laughing even harder, his blue gi sash wrapped tightly in his palm.

* * *

 _25th April, 2018._

* * *

 ** _Reviews:_**

 _ZaynNaz: Oh I would be giving a lot away if I told you that! :)_

 _arinst2305: You will see, trust me. The reaction is to come! I haven't worked out the kinks yet but I have a very good idea as to their reaction!_

 _Aaron Leach: thank you kind sir!_

 _TheRangerBoy: I think with this story, its expect the unexpected! Glad you like the direction its going in!_

 _noise95: oh that would make it far too easy on Gohan now wouldn't it? In my eyes becoming a God of Destruction is a lot more difficult than just saying oh your'e strong, here it is. And much more entertaining for Gohan to have to work for it!_

 _WiffleDick678: Hopefully this chapter has given you some idea as to how strong the other recruits are! Though we have yet to see what they can really do ;) Thank you so much for the compliment. :)_

 _SeanHicks4: Thanks! Not quite sure what you mean by your question though, do you mean if Goku achieves super saiyan God and keeps up with Gohan?_

 _SonJubbi: Thank you! hopefully this chapter didn't disappoint!_

 _Beepx22: Thank you so much, that really means a lot!_

 _MrChuckMan: Oh my gosh your review made me laugh so hard! Brilliant!_


	4. Training Begins

_Wow. wow wow wow. Seriously, you guys are amazing! Thank you so much for all the love and support this story has been getting! Over 200 followers in three chapters?! thank you so much! xD Im so sorry I havent been able to post recently, I've been so busy with life, wedding planning and work! Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter and find it entertaining and worth the wait! Love, ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

 **Training Begins**

 **xxxx**

* * *

This was not what he had in mind when he thought of destroyer training.

The morning had started off along the lines of what he had envisioned - with a literal bang, caused by the sudden appearance of a floating sand timer that exploded at the crack of dawn. Slightly singed, but by no means undeterred, Gohan threw on the required attire of a clean light blue tracksuit and white trainers and hurried out into the meadow to meet Whis along with the rest of the recruits. His talk with Alala last night had certainly improved his mood, and had made him even more determined to make a difference to the universe. However, he couldn't help but feel put out when Whis was nowhere in sight, and seven sets of mops and buckets were waiting for them instead.

He was awfully confused, though his peers did not seem fazed by this in the slightest and proceeded to take a mop and bucket each before flying out to the enormous tree that housed Beerus' castle. The young saiyan followed hesitantly, slopping half of the warm soapy water over himself as Eris snapped at him to hurry up. He wasn't sure what mops and buckets had to do with their training, but he wouldn't have to wait long to find out.

"Ugh, I _hate_ housekeeping," Makhai whined, abandoning his scrubbing and flopping against the bark of the ancient tree.

"Do you really have to do this every morning?" asked Gohan, dipping his mop back into the water, "Not even my mum cleans this much!"

It was unbearably hot so far up in the sky, the air thick and humid. Beads of sweat were evident on the young saiyan's brow as he continued to scrub the ageing tree bark. And his peers were in no better state. The heat almost reminded him of his time in The Hyperbolic Time Chamber, where it was so impregnable that it was difficult to breathe. Even so, it wasn't much of a work out, all it did was make him sweaty.

"Oh stop your whining," Eris said haughtily from a few branches back, her wild air pinned into an up-do over her crown, "The quicker you get off your _arse_ Makhai, the faster we will be finished."

Bia chuckled heartily from the trunk below them, "In answer to your question Gohan, yes, we do this every morning, as well as carry out other duties such as fetching food items from other planets, cleaning the palace and gardening."

"But why?" the halfling enquired, "I don't see what this has got to do with becoming a God of Destruction."

"Exactly my point, Sparky," Makhai drawled, closing his eyes and resting the back of his head against the tree.

"Performing menial tasks is very good for maintaining discipline," said Bia, unknowing just how much she reminded Gohan of his mother in that moment, "Plus it keeps everything spick and span, I trust you saw the mess you made after you and Kratos fought yesterday? Battle dust certainly is a nuisance to get out of tree bark you know."

The halfling heard a disgruntled noise behind him at the comment, and wasn't surprised when he saw Kratos hovering above the branches with his own mop, cleaning rather aggressively. The older boy had ignored Gohan all morning, apart from shooting him the occasional glare.

"But didn't Whis just wave his sceptre and everything went back to normal?" the pre-teen asked, the thought crossing his mind, "Couldn't he just do that for all of the cleaning?"

"Absolutely not!" Kratos finally snapped, his hard blue eyes narrowing at him, "How dare you even suggest it! It is your duty at this time to do as Master Whis asks of you, and I won't hear any more complaining!"

Gohan huffed, grabbing his mop rather haughtily and flinging more water than was needed across the branch, silently hoping that some of the excess hit Kratos in the face.

"It's not all bad Gohan, the housework won't take too long what with seven of us now," Alala chimed from the bark to his left where she was mopping with a rather disgruntled Deimos, "And I'd lower your voice if I were you Kratos, you might wake up Lord Beerus and you know how he can get if you disturb his nap."

"Does he really sleep that much?" asked Gohan, "Whis said that he had been doing a lot of napping recently."

"Destroyer Gods go through cycles of hibernation and destruction," said Bia, "although their sleep cycles can vary from days to a few centuries."

"Oh right, Beerus mentioned that Whis had woken him up early, he didn't seem too happy about it," he replied thoughtfully.

"That's _Lord_ Beerus to you child, and you will address him by his full title," Kratos growled, "Master did indeed rouse him earlier than planned so that he could inspect the new recruit, though I hardly think it was worth the effort."

The young saiyan shrunk back slightly. He was still getting used to the formalities, but still, did he have to be so mean about it?

"What's got your knickers in a twist Kratos?" Makhai jested, "Aww did the iccle bitty saiyan cub scare you with his shiny golden hair?"

The warrior snarled, "You'd better wind your neck in Makhai before I shove this mop up your -"

"The amount they destroy works in harmony with the amount they sleep," Bia continued, cutting across them, "for if there is too much destruction, the universe will implode. The same goes creation."

"So where are the creation Gods?" Gohan quirked, "I haven't seen any around."

A small burst of laughter escaped them, as Makhai spoke, "The Supreme Kai has his own realm and attendant. There used to be more but a manic ancient monster wiped four of the five out some years back. They may be Gods but they are much weaker than Gods of Destruction, as their job is to create and fill planets with life. They'd wet themselves if they were asked to come here, but I doubt they'd be even permitted to visit. Destroyers can mostly go where they please though."

"Is everyone really that scared of the Gods of Destruction?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," said the older boy, "You'd be scared too if you saw him in action."

"He sneezed once and destroyed three suns," Eris told him, "You would be wise not to take his power lightly."

The halfling gaped, "Is he really that strong?!"

" _Insanely_ so," said Makhai, "No one can stand up to him in this entire universe. Well, except for Whis, but he was the one that trained him."

"Whis trained Lord Beerus?!"

"Of course he did you fool," Deimos piped up with a roll of his eyes, "He is Lord Beerus' attendant, and that would include training, like he is doing for us."

"Oh," Gohan mustered, feeling a little stupid, it did make sense after all, "Sorry, I didn't know."

"Don't worry about it little man," Makhai smiled, throwing his arm over his shoulders, "The first time Kratos showed up here he thought that Whis was the God and Lord Beerus was the attendant. Nasty business."

"Right! That's it!" the recruit in question roared, throwing down his mop in a hissy fit as the rest of the group snorted with laughter, "I've had enough. You two idiots are on maid duty!"

Makhai scoffed, "Who died and made you boss?"

"Don't make me tell you twice _Lethien_!" Kratos spat, "You're both slowing down this whole process, and at this rate we won't be doing any training until nightfall."

"Well _you're_ the one that just chucked your cleaning utensil off the tree," the ginger-haired boy said pointedly, "I'd say that's rather counterproductive if you ask me."

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" He bellowed, yet Makhai merely shrugged.

"Fine, your loss," he sighed, lifting off into the air, "Come on Gohan, I'll show you the ropes."

The young saiyan didn't need to be told twice, and quickly followed suit, spiralling down from the world encompassing branches and towards the palace below them.

"I think he's still mad at me," sighed Gohan, as the stone temple came into view.

Makhai snorted, "Don't take it personally, that bloke has a permanent buzzborg in his overgrown bonnet. He has a sad story, but so do we all, he just let it get to him. Though it probably doesn't help that you bruised his ever expanding ego. I however, find it hilarious."

He didn't know what a buzzborg was, though he presumed it was some sort of alien bee. He didn't ask though, he was too ticked off. Kratos was the one who had taken their fight too far, not him. And he felt as though he was being punished for it.

"He's a git Gohan," said Makhai, catching onto the look on his face, "Don't let him get to you. He'll come around you'll see. And if he doesn't, then just take the piss out of him like I do. At least I'll get a laugh out of it."

The young saiyan couldn't help but laugh at that, "What does maid duty involve anyway?"

All he received was a mischievous grin as they landed outside the temple. "Oh," said Makhai, pushing open the doors, "You'll see."

* * *

"How the in the bloody hells are we supposed to do this?!" Gohan hissed, gaping at the task at hand.

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Makhai scoffed, folding his arms across his chest and giving him a pointed look, "You're too young to be swearing."

"I'm too young to do most things apparently," the halfling shot back in annoyance.

The older boy chuckled at his display, holding his hands up in defence, "Alright, alright, I'll ease off on the toddler jokes."

 _"Thank you."_

"Doesn't mean I won't still call you shortie though."

"Is everything a joke to you?!" Gohan griped.

"No, not everything," Makhai said seriously, "Mass genocide isn't very funny. Well, for most people anyway. Deimos found it a good crack, that's what got him locked up in HFIL."

"You what?" the young saiyan gaped, no wonder he got such a bad feeling from the boy! Still, he was so quiet now, what with his nose buried in textbooks at every given opportunity. He just didn't seem capable. Still, he reasoned, he was a candidate to become the next God of Destruction.

"Yeah, Deimos was this crazy warlord in the living world, used all kinds of evil magic to kill off a shit load of species until a good wizard did him in," Makhai informed him almost indifferently, "He's changed a lot though, I suppose that a couple of centuries hanging around ogres can do that to a bloke. They look quite scary, but they're a simple lot."

"I can't believe it," the pre-teen whispered, "Mass genocide, really?"

"Yup," the boy whistled, "My cause of death too, inadvertently though I suppose. No one really had it out for me that much, just wanted to lock me up in prison."

"H-how?" Gohan asked tentatively, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. Even though he knew that it wouldn't change the fact that Makhai was dead and had been so for quite some years, he still didn't like the thought of him dying.

"I was an outlaw," he explained, "A thief, a rebel. Ran away from my home planet Lethe in the North Galaxy when I was wanted by every law enforcement in the world, though it wasn't long before the galactic patrol were after me too. I was hiding on a planet off the beaten track when Frieza and his cronies rocked up and decided to blow it up."

"Frieza?!" the young saiyan gasped in horror, "You're telling me that _Frieza_ killed you?!"

He shrugged, "Call it being in the wrong place at the wrong time, along with a dash of bad luck. Why, did you know him?"

" _Know_ him?!" Gohan spluttered, "I fought him!"

"You," Makhai stared, pointing his finger at him, "You fought Lord Frieza. The moat fearsome tyrant to ever rule over the galaxies?"

"Uh, yeah."

"When?!" the boy scoffed disbelievingly, "Were you in nappies or something?!"

"I was five."

Makhai gave him a deadpan look, before erupting into hysterics, much to Gohan's chargin.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHA - Oh wait you're serious," he said, stopping himself short as he caught onto the pre-teen's glare, "Bloody hell! You're actually serious aren't you?"

Slowly, the halfling nodded, causing Makhai to gasp, "Blimey, no wonder you're so strong! What happened? I got word about that bastard being killed. Don't tell me it was you who did the deed?!"

"Well actually, it was my dad that defeated him," Gohan explained, "He survived unfortunately and came to Earth, but a boy from the future finished him off for good."

Makhai gaped, "I can't tell if you're completely off your head or not, though you must have been to have a go at Frieza at age five."

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, prompting the older boy to give him a bewildered look.

"Sorry? For what?"

"Frieza," Gohan sighed heavily, vivid, cruel memories flashing through his mind, "I'm sorry that it was Frieza who killed you. That heartless monster was the worst."

"Ah it's fine," Makhai smiled, "I was sixteen when I died, and I'd had a good life, though a few years of running and hiding was enough for me anyway. They locked me up in HFIL for the crimes I'd committed, but the ogres were much nicer to me than the other inmates. I didn't have mummy and daddy to steer me on the right path you see. I bet they must have been so disappointed, but I have no regrets. I only took this gig on for a laugh, but I suppose it would be nice to give something back to the universe. It's a shame though really, Frieza got the lot of us in the end, my race the Lethiens were incredibly gifted warriors and he was rightly scared of them. Easiest solution of course was to blow us all up."

"It was kind of his thing," the young saiyan spat darkly.

He chuckled, clapping him on the shoulder, "And don't worry, I won't hold it against you for not killing him. As long as you got a good hit on that bastards smug face."

Gohan couldn't help but shoot him a wicked grin, "Oh you bet I did."

Makhai smiled back, before turning to the mighty assignment in front of them, "Right then, let's get to work."

"Mind explaining how we do this again?" he asked, tugging on the pink frilly fabric around his waist, "and are the aprons really necessary?"

"Of course not," said Makhai, "I just want to feel pretty."

Gohan shot him a most hateful glare.

"Great Zalama among us I was _joking_!" he exclaimed, "Whis makes us wear them, and what he says goes I'm afraid. Blimey, you are way too serious for a ten year old."

"I'm eleven!" the halfling spouted hotly, "and you said that you wouldn't make jokes about my age anymore!"

"Hey don't look at me," he replied, "I'm training to be a deity, not a saint. You shouldn't be so trusting."

"Evidently," Gohan snarled, causing the older boy to snicker.

"Ah come on," Makhai smiled, showing off his fangs, "Seen as it's your first time, I'll be gentle. You can play look out and make sure Lord Beerus doesn't wake up whilst I change the sheets."

"Fine," the young saiyan drawled, he had a really bad feeling about this.

Lord Beerus' sleeping quarters was unlike anything he had seen before. Situated in a vast chamber with no windows, the only light reflecting off the dozens of floating sand-timers that Gohan had been extremely careful to avoid for want of them not exploding. The entire room was engulfed in a soft yellow glow, though the pre-teen could not depict just where the light was coming from. They were deep within the palace after all, and the air was suffocatingly warm and humid, it didn't help the fact that the God of Destruction was emitting that same energy that weighed a tremendous pressure on his senses.

Lord Beerus was sleeping peacefully, and didn't look all that threatening as his body was contorted at an odd angle, his long pointed tail twitching at every breath he exhaled. He wore a faded blue nightgown, his blankets twisted at the end of the oval shaped bed that was suspended in mid-air by a jagged rock that protruded from the darkness below them from which Gohan could not see the bottom.

"Right so," Makhai spoke, clapping his hands together as his features became more serious, "First rule, don't wake him up. Lord Beerus doesn't take lightly to people interrupting his nap, if we wake him it could cost us our lives. Well, wipe us from existence."

Gohan was so shocked that his startled voice echoed over the chamber, "WHAT?!"

"Shhh!" the older boy pressed, causing the young saiyan to clamp his hands over his mouth sheepishly.

His eyes darted towards the dangerous deity but was shortly relieved when he found that he was still fast asleep.

"Yeah if you die when you're already dead then poof!" Makhai continued, "You're wiped from the planes of existence. Though, it wouldn't matter if we were alive anyway, alive or dead if you're destroyed by a destroyer then there is no coming back from that."

Gohan gulped, slowly removing his hands, "So how are we going to manage changing his sheets without waking him up?"

He shrugged indifferently, "We just have to wait until he rolls over."

The halfling blinked, surely he wasn't serious? Lord Beerus looked incredibly comfortable, his light snores filling the air, who knows how long they would be waiting for the deity to untangle himself from his bedsheets. It wasn't fair, Gohan wanted to train, not hang around an ancient destroyers bedroom in a frilly apron waiting on the off chance for him to turn over in his sleep.

After a few minutes of silence, the young pre-teen sighed, hovering over Lord Beerus as he continued to snore. He couldn't help but giggle, as the most deadliest God there was mumbled something incoherent in his sleep, a bubble of snot protruding from his nostril.

"You know," Gohan chuckled quietly, "for someone so powerful he doesn't half look silly in his sleep."

As his voice echoed over the chamber, Lord Beerus snapped open one eye without warning.

Gohan squeaked, nearly falling out of the air as the destroyer God's beady pupil fixated on him. It felt like it was penetrating his entire soul, and he could have sworn that his entire life flashed before his eyes - again.

Luckily, Makhai was quick to intervene.

"Good morning Lord Beerus!" He chirped, shoving him out of the way and standing to attention, one hand raised in salute, "This is just a dream! Go back to sleep now, that's a good kitty cat."

Gohan held his breath as Beerus continued to stare at the boys, when slowly, his eyelid closed shut and his snores reached their ears once more.

"Phew," he breathed, turning his back towards the deity as he spoke, beads of sweat evident on his brow, "That was close."

"Too right," said Makhai, clapping him on the back, "You'd better stay back and let me handle this, you've got to be careful mate."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Gohan replied tentatively, "For a moment there I thought I was a goner -eek!"

His sentence was abruptly cut short, as a strong, powerful arm suddenly wrapped around his neck from behind and he was pulled backwards onto the mattress below. He had to bite the inside of his cheeks to keep himself from screaming both out of shock and out of pain. Somehow, in his delirium, Beerus the Destroyer had sat up in his slumber and thinking that Gohan was some sort of large teddy bear, pulled him back down with him, cradling him close.

So close that poor halfling was currently being held in a headlock, his neck burning with agony and his head swimming with lack of oxygen. He was fighting to keep himself conscious, though didn't want to struggle to much for want of not waking Beerus up and having to explain just why the new recruit was nestled in bed with him.

"Brilliant Gohan!" Makhai beamed, keeping his voice to a whisper, "Stay just like that, and lift him up whilst he still has hold of you. I'll change the sheets underneath!"

He nodded wordlessly, and gritting his teeth in pain he gathered his Ki, pushing it underneath him so that he was able to levitate both him and Beerus off of the mattress and into the air. Gohan thanked his lucky stars that he was still snoring, though the hold on his neck was tighter than ever.

"Will you hurry _up_?!" Gohan hissed below him, where he could depict the sound of flapping bedsheets. "I swear you're going slow on purpose."

Makhai chuckled mischievously, "I'm just ironing out the creases!"

The young saiyan honestly felt like slapping him.

He was struggling for breath, though relief filled his chest when a small shout from the older boy signalled that he was finished. He made to lower them back down onto the bed, when a pungent smell reached his nostrils, nearly causing him to gag.

"Lord Beerus," Makhai cooed, holding something wrinkled and smelly in his palm, a peg attached to his nose, "Here sleepy kitty, a dried sardine! Yum yum, come and get it!"

Slowly, but surely, they landed softly on the now fresh sheets, and Beerus finally rolled over, releasing Gohan in order to chew on the smelly fish.

The halfling gasped for air as he was freed, gulping down relieving breaths of oxygen as he rubbed his sore neck. He winced as he recovered, watching as Lord Beerus swallowed his mouthful and licked his lips, drifting back into a deep sleep.

He had no idea just where Makhai had pulled the sardine from, and in all honesty he really didn't want to know.

"There, all done!" the boy chimed happily, his nose now peg free, "A successful venture I'd say."

"Successful?" Gohan spluttered, "I almost _died_ , again!"

"Exactly!" he grinned back, "You _almost_ got destroyed, but you didn't. I'd call that a win, wouldn't you?"

As the pre-teen opened his mouth in an angry retort, did a loud, thunderous bellow interrupt him.

"WORST DISH EVER!" Lord Beerus cried in a fit of rage.

He was still asleep, thank goodness, quite obviously dreaming. Though that didn't stop him from failing his tail around and walloping the two startled boys in the chest.

Gohan and Makhai went flying across the chamber, the wind completely knocked out of them as the careened through the air. They hit something solid with a sickening **CLANG** and it took them a few seconds to realise just what they had crashed into to.

"Oh SHIT!" Makhai swore loudly, as the sand-timer glowed an alarming bright yellow, a whirring sound reaching their ears.

Then, before Gohan could even blink, Makhai had whizzed the pair of them and the ticking time bomb out of the palace, far away from Lord Beerus and his sleeping quarters. They somehow reappeared where they had started, within the twisting branches of the enormous ancient tree and right in front of a flabbergasted Kratos.

"Oi Kratos mate, hang onto this for us would you?" Makhai winked, before disappearing once more.

 **BOOM!**

The force of the explosion rocked the entire tree, the branches and leaves blowing back from the force as the bright yellow light eclipsed the atmosphere.

As the dust subsided, Makhai and Gohan were nowhere to be found, leaving the rest of the recruits coughing and spluttering through the smoke.

"Well," said Bia, brushing the remnants of sand off her tracksuit before clasping a seething and singed Kratos on the shoulder, "You've got to give them points for creativity."

Far away from the others, the troublesome pair reappeared in a flower filled meadow, both of them roaring with laughter.

"That was brilliant!" laughed Gohan, tears in his eyes, "what was that move? Instant transmission?"

The way Makhai had just materialised them in front of Kratos and away again was all to reminiscent of his father's technique.

"Instant transmission?" he quirked curiously, "Nah, never heard of it. That there Sparky, was just teleportation, you'll learn it from your time here."

"Wicked," the young saiyan beamed, he couldn't wait to learn more.

"Come on, the fun doesn't stop there," Makhai grinned, guiding him by the shoulders, "Now that we've changed Lord Beerus' sheets we've got a lot more to get done before we can start training."

House keeping, as it turned out, involved a lot more than just scrubbing the ancient tree and collecting daily food supplies. Although their food haul had increased substantially with the addition of the young half saiyan. Every morning started off the same way, they would be rudely awoken by the explosive sand-timer, and spend the hours until late afternoon mopping, washing, scrubbing, cutting a entire field of grass that only grew back the next day, and cleaning out slimy smelly fish bowls that belonged to some oracle fish.

They would stop for a short lunch before heading out into the meadow to meet Whis, who would put them through their paces in regards to strength and resistance training. They would be subjected to lifting a tremendously heavy block that resembled cinder and run laps around the planet, however, there was a catch as the pathway would begin to disappear underneath their feet and should they fall they would be cast into another dimension from which there was no return. Once the recruits got comfortable with the weight, Whis would double it.

Another interesting way to train was to perform fifty-thousand thumb-ups in gravity dense suits that created more resistance than Bulma's latest artificial gravity simulator she had built for Vegeta in the run up to The Cell Games.

His new master had many weird and wonderful ways to train them, each one as gruelling as the next. Though despite a rather shaky start, Gohan found that he was beginning to fit in amongst the rest of the recruits, catching up steadily to their level of intense training. He spent the majority of his time with Makhai, who was quickly becoming more of a best friend despite the age difference. Alala and Bia spoke with him often, but more often than not were they wrapped up in their own training, however, the rest of the recruits mainly ignored him. Things had been tense with Kratos ever since their fight, though he was more inclined to brush it off as Makhai had suggested and not take it personally.

He had learned the backstories of the two other recruits in the meantime. The dark feeling he had gotten from Eris was solid in it's truth. According to Makhai, Eris had been an evil seventeen year old empress that had brought chaos and war to her planet some hundred and fifty years ago. She was killed by rebels when they managed to overthrow her vindictive rein, though just like Deimos she repented, and he dark humour and haughty attitude was all that was left of the corrupt princess that once was. Makhai loved teasing her, and the pre-teen as inexperienced as he was, couldn't help but think that the ginger-haired Lethien had a bit of a thing for her.

Bia, on the other hand, was as good as they came. She died around a hundred years before Eris at just nineteen, and was apart of a planet of all female warriors who lived to bring peace to surrounding planets, though were fierce and deadly when attacked. Bia gave her life to save her sisters when their planet was attacked by outlaws, and had been training on the Grand Kai's planet ever since.

Weeks, maybe months fled by, though Gohan had realised he had begun to lose count of the days since he had died. He could feel himself getting stronger, and was even managing to dodge Lord Beerus' catastrophic sleep sneezes. He was close to mastering his super saiyan two transformation, something that only Whis and Makhai had been informed of and had taken to venturing out alone in the dead of night to power up into the ascended state and see how long he could maintain it. He would spar with his shadow, perform katas that his father had taught him many years ago, and meditate to clear his mind. In truth, he was still conflicted over his decision to stay away from his family and friends, though he reasoned that time healed, and he hoped that his would heal soon.

In between housework and training, the young saiyan would study in the common room with the rest of the recruits. He was utterly fascinated with the structure of the universe, and the various rules and regulations that deity's had to abide by. He would spend time next to the roaring blue fire pouring over thick leather bound books and fill his brain with various languages and information regarding races, galaxies and stars. Things that would have seemed like fantasy a few months ago, but now was all too real, and there was a lot to learn. He hadn't even started on the books that Makhai had given him on his first day of the camp, instead he had taken to raiding the bookshelves in the common room.

Still, gaining all this knowledge and strength wasn't all that worth it to Gohan without having the chance to test it out. The recruits hadn't been permitted to spar with one another for some time, having been instructed by Whis to explore their power separately. This was confusing for the young boy, as he didn't understand just how they were supposed to compete or test their power when they weren't allowed to spar. However, his patience was rewarded, when one sunny morning were they roused from their beds with yet another sand-timer bomb.

Gohan yawned and stretched indifferently, before clambering out of bed and pulling on his usual blue tracksuit. Slightly singed, though undeterred, Gohan and the rest of the recruits filed out of the camp and out to the meadow, where instead of the usual mops and buckets, was Whis standing before them with a quirky smile.

"Do you always have to use the sand bombs Master Whis?" Makhai whined, blinking the sleep out of his eyes and squinting up at the Angel in the morning sun. "I swear I keep getting sand in my underpants."

Whis simply chuckled, "You'll have to get used to them if you want to become the next God of Destruction."

The ginger haired teen huffed, "You wouldn't be saying that if _you_ had sand stuck up your-"

"Master," Bia interjected before Makhai could finish his sentence, "may I ask why you have greeted us with your presence so early? Has our training schedule changed for today?"

"You could say that Bia my dear," Whis smiled ever wider, "Training is cancelled for today, as you have been chosen to go on a mission."

Gohan's eyes widened, Whis had mentioned something about going on missions when he had first arrived on Beerus' planet. But what would the mission entail? A feeling of dread suddenly crept its ways into the pit of his stomach. Oh no, he was really hoping that he wouldn't have to destroy anything so soon.

His train of thought was cut short however, by the sound of Makhai squealing in his ears.

"FINALLY!" He beamed, throwing his arm over Gohan's shoulders, "It's about time you gave us something exciting to do Master Whis! And it'll be Sparky's first time too! Don't you worry little man, we'll be gentle. Ooh this is the best day ever!"

"Do calm down and have some dignity!" Eris snapped in disapproval at the display.

"Sorry love, lost that when I died."

"I doubt you had it before."

"Oi!"

"Settle down, settle down," Whis chuckled, before he surveyed the seven recruits, his features becoming serious, "Now, your first mission as a party of seven will not be an easy feat by any means. Just because you are new to us Gohan, doesn't mean that I'll be taking the others back to basics."

The young saiyan gulped as Makhai nudged him in the ribs and said, "Gutted."

"As it is, the Supreme Kai has been in touch, as an inter-dimensional beast has been reeking havoc across the cosmos," the Angel continued, the recruits standing to attention, "This creature gains power by feeding off off light energy and has been devouring suns, already destroying countless worlds over the last few days. It needs to be stopped, or else the universe will become imbalanced. I thought it would be a perfect task for my destroyers in training, don't you agree?"

Kratos smashed his fists together, "An excellent task Master, we will destroy this monster without a moment wasted. Though I do not think you'll need all seven of us for this mission."

Gohan frowned, as the warrior inclined his head towards him.

"Let's find out, shall we?" Whis winked, tapping his staff so that they were all engulfed in a white beam of light, "The Supreme Kai believes he knows where the beast will strike next, and it will take us approximately nine minutes and forty-eight seconds to get there. Keep your arms and legs inside The Warp at all times now."

And they were off. The young saiyan felt a tremendous pull at his navel as they jerked forwards and shot up into the sky, past the atmosphere and hurtled headlong into deep space. Now Gohan had experienced space travel first hand on the way to Namek, but this was on a whole new level. Once he had gotten over the shock of being thrown into space, the pre-teen could admire the vast array of stars and planets whizzing past them at break neck speed, though he held onto the back of Whis' garb tightly, weary of falling out of the white foggy light that carried them towards their destination. The others seemed completely unfazed by the speed and the fact that they were flying through space without a spaceship.

A part of Gohan was excited, he had been waiting for something to test his strength for ages now. And yes, they were heading off to destroy something, but whatever this creature was, it had taken countless lives already, and would surely continue in it's destructive path if it wasn't stopped. That, the young saiyan could live with, though it didn't help stop his knees from knocking together.

"You nervous Gohan?" Bia asked when they had been warping for a few minutes.

This drew the attention of the other recruits, causing him to blush and look down at his feet. He really wished Bia wasn't so good at reading a persons emotions. He could feel Kratos' eyes burning into the back of his head, though to his relief he didn't say anything.

"Nervous?" Makhai scoffed, before breaking out into a fanged smile, "Don't be nervous! You have nothing to fear little man!"

"Aw the little saiyan cub is tense," Deimos snorted, causing Alala to shoot him a glare.

"No he's not!" she snarled, hunching her bow further up on her shoulder, her sharp pointed arrows strapped to her back in a quiver. She smiled brightly at him, "Don't worry Gohan, your power is amazing."

"Yeah and we've got your back," said Makhai, "Even though we're competing we're not about to let anyone get hurt."

Eris scoffed, "Speak for yourself."

"Oh ignore her," the boy said with a roll of his eyes, as Gohan gulped, "What do you need man? Deodorant? Breath mint? Fresh pair of underwear?"

"Underwear?" the dark princess wrinkled her nose in distaste, "You need help."

"What?" Makhai blinked, "It's best to come prepared!"

Alala gave him a reassuring wink as the pair continued to bicker, and steadily The Warp began to slow. The stars became clearer and the dusty ground beneath them came nearer - too near, Gohan thought as he ended up landing heavily on his backside as soon as they landed.

"Ouch!" He winced, his coccyx throbbing painfully as the others, who were still standing much to his chargin, looked towards him in amusement.

"We will have to work on that landing of yours Gohan," observed Whis, as Alala helped him to his feet, "But alas, another time. I believe you have more pressing matters to attended to."

For the first time, Gohan took in his surroundings. They were situated on what appeared to be an abandoned planet, it's surface made of crimson chalk. The sky above them glowed bright orange, due to the sun that burned incredibly close to the planet. He didn't know if the planet had been abandoned due to the sheer impregnable heat or the fact that the inhabitants had perished because of it. He was certain he wasn't feeling the intensity of the elements as bad because he was dead, though he could still feel the sweat rolling down his neck and back.

Broken buildings lay crumbled in heaps over the desolate wasteland, and as he stretched out his senses, he realised that he couldn't sense anything else on the entire planet. It was certainly eerie, and he wondered just where in the universe they were. However, there was no more time to contemplate as a sudden bloodcurdling screech reached his ears.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, as the high pitched screaming grew louder. It sounded as though a million souls were being tortured at once, ringing in his ears and making his stomach clench with anticipation and fear.

A bright green light erupted from somewhere above the atmosphere, and what followed it made the young saiyan gape in horror. For Whis was certainly talking about a beast, the likes of which Gohan had never seen before, or imagined in any of his worst nightmares. It looked like some kind of giant deformed octopus, about four times the size of an adult Oozaru. It had eight enormous tentacles that seemed to propel it forwards towards them, it's bulbous head thrashing around wildly as it screamed, baring rows and rows of sharp jagged teeth. The pre-teen felt sick, it's entire body was covered in gelatinous slime that glistened sickeningly in the blinding sunlight. The stench emitting from the beast was overwhelmingly foul, it smelled like rotting eggs, flesh and a bucket load of those nasty dried sardines that Makhai always pulled from Kami knows where for Lord Beerus emergencies.

"Well, that's a little intense," said Makhai, as the deadly creature hurtled towards them.

"And this is where I leave you," Whis positively beamed, "Toodles!"

And with a flash of blinding white light, he was gone.

"INCOMING!" Kratos roared as the beast landed with an enormous crash, causing the rest of the recruits to shield themselves from the impact.

"Yuck! What in gracious hell _is_ that thing?!" Eris spat in disgust, uncovering her arms from her face and glaring at the monster.

"It doesn't matter what it is," said Kratos boldly, "All that matters is how we're going to destroy it."

"And how do you propose we do that, oh mighty one?" Makhai mocked, bowing to him comically.

The older warrior ignored him, immediately taking charge as the gigantic beast let out another high pitched wail, "The situation is simple, we go at that monster all at once with everything we've got before it eats any more suns, destroy it and get out."

"Sounds a bit boring if you ask me," Makhai snorted.

"Why you-!"

"For once I agree with Makhai," said Eris, her eyes hardening, "Experienced in leading a battalion or not, I'm not taking orders off of you, or anyone else for that matter."

"Aw, I didn't know you cared, my Princess of Darkness."

"Shove it!"

"When you've done arguing," Alala interjected pointedly, drawing her bow, "We've got a job to do."

Slowly, Kratos swallowed his pride, "Fine. Alala, you go ahead, the rest of us will follow. We need to power up to our maximum to ensure this beast's demise. I can sense a well of evil energy within it."

"Right," said Bia fiercely, before her body was enveloped in a striking silver glow.

Blues, reds, purples and oranges suddenly lit up the dusty crimson ground as they powered up. Deimos did so rather reluctantly, rolling his eyes before his own green aura accompanied the rest.

Gohan let out a sharp cry as he brought his power to the surface, immediately jumping to his super saiyan two form, lightening bolts jolting around his frame as his eyes turned emerald and his unruly hair a brilliant gold.

"And you," Kratos growled suddenly, his piercing gaze fixated on the halfling, "Stay out of my way."

The young saiyan was left stunned, as before he could retort did the six recruits kick off from the ground and speed towards the awaiting tentacled beast. Alala was first into the fray, releasing multiple arrows from her bow in rapid succession. They must have been manipulated with Ki somehow, as they were encompassed by violet flames that caused them to rip through the monster's slimy flesh and melt the surrounding skin away.

The creature howled with rage and agony, as the young assassin landed effortlessly before it, her dark hair whipping about her from the rapid winds that were steadily engulfing the planet. The influx of power from the recruits was mind boggling, and it was clear that the beast stood no chance against them.

With a loud battlecry, they charged, the already weakened beast snarled with fury, it's long tentacles flailing around violently in the air in an attempt to bat the recruits out of the sky. Sickly green blood poured from the wounds that Alala had inflicted, though Kratos still instructed the warriors to fire, serious about ending it quickly.

One, two, three, four, five, six multicoloured blasts intermingled with one another as the recruits unleashed their power. It propelled towards the snarling beast, igniting the crimson wasteland in a brilliant hue of light. The monster's beady eyes widened, before it became dazzled by the fused energy. It penetrated it's skin before it could react, erupting out of the other side of it's chest cavity and causing it to quiver.

Coming to his senses, Gohan made to follow the others, but before he could so much as make a move, the beast dropped to the ground. Dead.

The young saiyan sighed, dropping back to the first level of super saiyan, his golden aura dissipating in an instant. He couldn't help but feel disappointed. Why had Kratos held him back like that? He thought he had gotten over being intimidated by him by now. The other recruits had managed to get in there before Gohan could even blink. It wasn't fair. When was he going to be given the opportunity to test his strength? To prove his worth? To prove to himself and the others that he wasn't just a little kid playing some kind of game?

Then again, he surmised, nudging a motionless tentacle moodily with his foot, this manic monster that the Supreme Kai was so worried about didn't seem all that strong anyway.

"Well, that was easy," said Makhai, shrugging at the others, who also seemed a little disappointed at the challenge their mentor had set for them.

"Almost too easy," Alala mustered, picking up a bloodied arrow and wiping it clean on the hem of her tracksuit hoodie, "I don't like it."

"Oh come off it," the ginger haired teen scoffed, "Why are you being so sceptical all of a sudden? The Supreme Kai was scared shitless of this thing after all. I say we defeated it so easily because _we're_ all getting stronger."

 **ROARRRRRRR!**

They froze, as a monumental roar sounded from somewhere in the distance. Not only did they hear it, did they actually feel it. The sound was so intense that Gohan could have sworn that his bones actually shook from the force. Goosebumps appeared on his arms as it sounded again. It was deeper, more thunderous than before, as if a tremendous thunderstorm was waging in his eardrums. He was certain that his expression took the same shape as the others, as their eyes darted about them cautiously.

"W-what was that?" asked Bia, and the pre-teen was surprised at her weary tone. Usually she spoke with such a calmness, and gave the impression that she was not fearful of anything. Even though she was brave enough to speak, she wasn't expecting an answer from them. Though her answer swiftly came in another burst of green light that erupted from the atmosphere.

Gohan's jaw hit the floor, as a similar being to the one they had just defeated careened towards them from a dimension unknown. Except this time, their opponent was even bigger than the last, colossal in comparison. It seemed to suck the light from it's path as it charged towards them, the gaping black hole of a mouth roaring with an anguish so intense that it was enough to make his ears pop.

"You were SAYING?!" Alala roared at Makhai, whose mouth was gaping like a fish.

"Um, I think the one we just fought was the baby," the young saiyan mustered meekly, earning himself a few exasperated glares.

"AND HERE COMES MAMA!" Makhai hollered, the beast approaching fast, "EVERYBODY DUCK!"

* * *

 _6th June, 2018._

* * *

 **Reviews:**

Aaron Leach : Thank you, keep coming back!

victor0606 : Thank you :)

heyskeytiem: Nice to hear that you're coming back for more even though it isnt really your thing! Thanks!

SeanHicks4: thanks for your review, ill keep them in mind!

MrChuckMan : glad to hear!

SonJubbi : wow thank you so much!

Knight of elves: oh they'll get stronger, dont you worry, and I deffo havent forgotten about Gohan's mystic/ultimate form!

Lazymanjones96 : thanks! :)

Guest: All will be revealed eventually ;)

Iwik: yes I have based the OC's on names from greek mythology, think it just gives it a nice vibe! Ooh you havent seen super yet you say? You're in for a treat!

Srblack28: thank you!

JesseJames2308: thanks, glad you think so!

Star1X: thanks for your reviews! For the story's sake, I wanted to keep Goku with his family so it creates a bigger impact on Gohan leaving his family behind. Like, his father wouldnt do it but he did. Creates an air of guilt around the young boy which adds a better dynamic that we will see grow as his character does. As for VidelxGohan, it will happen as the story implies, but I dont want to give anything away just yet. The interactions between Beerus and Gohan I'm planning on being quite entertaining and as for the OC's I aim to keep them throughout the story though some will have minor roles and others major depending on chapter ;)

Chosen To Die : thank you! Yay Whis and Gohan!

yunayuu: Glad you found this too!

Guest: Haha! yes I wanted the OC's to have spectacular meaningful names and Im glad you find it as entertaining as I do that Gohan's name just means rice!

Lightningblade49 : thank you thank you! glad you enjoyed Gohan's rage moment! More to come ;)

Beta117 : thank you so much!

animeflunky: yay thank you :)

Guest : not to worry, there will be a time skip in a few chapters :D


	5. Hero

_A/N: Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews and follows! I wanted to get the next chapter out as quickly as possible, as this chapter (heads up) has a lot of foreboding. I really hope you enjoy the battle, and the continuation of Gohan's journey. At this point, Gohan is still struggling with his decision to stay away from Earth, and I hope I am managing to capture that for you. However, there will be snippets and a lot of character to development with Gohan into the man he is destined to become, and will be seen more and more as the story continues. My plan is to stick with Gohan's basic morals and values as a character but spending years with Gods of Destruction will certainly change some of his outlook and the way he carries himself, reacts to things etc. But he WILL still be Gohan, not OCC Gohan, just a more badass version of our boy in case anyone is worried about that! I have a few people asking me about time skips and when I will be getting to the Buu Saga... a time skip will happen in the next couple of chapters don't worry as I dont want to spent too much time here before we get to the main story, and as for the Buu Saga, well, I guess you'll just have to wait to find out what I do with that :) Hope you enjoy! ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

 **Hero**

 **xxxx**

The recruits threw themselves to the ground with no time to waste, their bellies hitting the crimson chalk as the manically charged monster flew overhead and landed a few feet away. It's landing caused the surface surrounding it to crack and fall apart, forming an enormous crater that was soon hidden by it's gigantic tentacles that protruded from it's slimy body.

They scrambled quickly to their feet and jumped high into the air as one of the offending appendages crashed into the space where they lay. Gohan heard Makhai swear loudly, and he couldn't help but silently think the same as he came face to face with the creature's large eye. There was no doubt in his mind that the mother beast was the biggest thing he had ever seen, let alone fought. It let out another bone quaking roar, sending bits of stinking saliva flying towards them. Some of it landed on Gohan's hoodie, and it was with horror did he realise that the jelly-like goo had burned a hole right through the fabric. He stripped himself of the tracksuit top hurriedly before it scorched his skin, throwing it down to the dusty ground before calling out to the others.

"Be careful! This thing spits acid!"

"Oh fan-frigging-tastic," Makhai huffed, rolling up his sleeves and getting into his flawless fighting stance, "That's just what we need, a sun sucking tentacled monster that can also melt your skin off."

"This is no time for your jokes Makhai!" Kratos snarled, his crimson aura erupting around his frame before he bellowed, "CHARGE!"

And just like that, he was gone, full throttle towards the rampaging beast without a second thought. Bia and Alala were right behind the older teenager, streaks of silver and violet billowing behind them in their wake. Eris rolled her eyes before grabbing a reluctant Deimos by the scruff of his tracksuit top and swiftly teleported them towards the epicentre of the battle.

"Ah well," Makhai shrugged, "If you can't beat 'em, do your best to try!"

"That's not how the saying goes-," Gohan frowned, but the fanged teen was already gone, rushing headlong towards the deranged octopus so fast that he nearly missed it.

With an almighty bellow, Makhai attacked, joining the others in their onslaught. Shockwaves rippled across the planet as the recruit's mighty blows connected and the monster was sent flying into the air. Though it didn't get far, as in a burst of deathly black energy did Eris materialise above the gigantic brute, delivering a hammer fist to it's gelatinous skull so that it plummeted back to the ground in a pitiful heap.

The beast howled as it recovered quickly, brandishing it's tentacles in anger, acid spitting from it's gaping mouth. The recruits were upon it almost instantaneously, the intensity of their assault reaching new heights as the monster attempted to knock them out of the sky. Gohan eagerly kicked off from the ground, determined not to get left behind this time. He joined his comrades in encircling their enemy, dodging Kratos' deadly warped spikes that erupted from the ground before finding an opening and booting the beast straight across the jaw with a powerful kick.

"Nice shot!" Makhai called, giving him a thumbs up from across the planes.

The pre-teen grinned back, feeling rather proud of himself as the monster toppled to the ground. Though his small victory was short lived, as a slimy tentacle shot towards him out of nowhere, wrapping around his torso and squeezing the air out of his lungs.

The young saiyan cried out, as the force from the deadly appendage caused his bones to groan in protest. He was being crushed, his head spinning from the lack of oxygen, his vision becoming blurred when -

 **SLICE**

The agonising pressure on his body was released thanks to Bia, who appeared by his side, her arm encompassed by a brightly coloured Ki blade. The severed tentacle fell to the ground with a sickening thud as the young woman turned her concerned yellow eyes towards him, "Are you alright Gohan?"

"Y-yeah," he mustered shakily, his breathing coming up short, "Thanks for that."

She smiled back, before disappearing once more, just as the beast recovered from Gohan's blow. She reappeared just above the gigantic brute, swiping the Ki blade across it's skull. Though, to the young saiyan's horror, the blade splintered as soon as it touched the beasts skin, causing Bia to gasp.

"W-what?" she spluttered, before she was batted out of the air by another rough tentacle.

"BIA!" Gohan cried as she hit the ground, clouds of crimson dust exploding into the sky.

Kratos yelled with rage, his aura blazing as he hurtled towards the destructive monster, swinging his fists wildly as he charged. The beast roared as the teenager's fist connected with it's belly, the force was so great that it knocked the creature clean off the ground.

"Oi!" Alala cried, dodging swiftly out of the way as Eris shot up to meet it once more.

An abrupt shout escaped the dark princess' lips, and Gohan's eyes widened as her petite body was suddenly engulfed by an enormous tornado that swirled with pitch black clouds and crackles of bright white lightening. It grew bigger and bigger, speeding across the dusty planes, leaving a destructive path in it's wake.

"She always has to go overboard doesn't she?" Gohan heard Makhai sigh, before the raging winds picked up around them, and they both had to brace themselves in midair for want of not being sucked up in the twister.

The beast was not as lucky, and, distracted by Kratos' attack, was caught by the whirring cyclone, circling round and round with an irate shriek that escaped it's thick thraot before it was engulfed by the epicentre.

"Oh no you don't," Deimos growled, taking a strong stance against the hurricane-like winds, his palms outstretched and glowing a vibrant green, "You're not swiping away the victory of this battle Eris."

Without another word uttered, vibrant green flames erupted from his palms, the emerald fire created eerie shadows over the battlefield before careening towards the tornado. Kratos and Makhai followed suit, their own crimson and amber blasts intermingling before breaking through the surface of the whirlwind so that the torrent of air flashed and sparked with light.

"Wait! Won't you hit her?!" Gohan cried, aghast as the three males took aim once more.

"Ah don't worry Sparky, she's fine in there!" Makhai yelled back over the roaring winds, "It'd take a lot more than this to hurt Eris!"

Suddenly, a loud war cry cut across him, and Gohan just about made out the figure of Alala as she towered over the giant twister, her long dark hair whipping behind her in rapid succession. Her bow was drawn, her sharp arrow pointed towards the epicentre with a look of fierce determination in her eyes.

"What are you waiting for?! Do it NOW!" She roared, releasing the arrow into the darkness and causing the pre-teen to come to his senses.

"KAMEHAMEHAAAAAA!" He bellowed, the brilliant blue light erupting from his cupped palms as the others unleashed their attacks.

The blasts hit, swirling around the tornado and causing it to shine with a spectacular sapphire hue. Gohan could feel their combined power connecting, swelling, concentrating to a particular point where the beast was no doubt trapped. He crossed his arms over his face, bracing himself for the massive explosion that was to come when to his confusion, it didn't.

The twister continued to spin, though the light from their combined beams slowly diminished, before snuffing out completely. The young saiyan couldn't believe his eyes, as the familiar sound of the beast's shrieks reached his ears and the tornado was sucked out of the sky, revealing the now ballooned monster, completely unscathed.

"Oh shi-," Makhai started, when a cataclysmic explosion rocked the entire planet, bursting from the creature's jaws in a myriad of colour, sending shockwaves rushing towards them.

Eris screamed as she was caught in the blast, no longer protected by her attack. She was sent flying, her clothes smouldering and her wild hair completely dishevelled. Makhai caught her in midair, knocking the wind out of him before he and the rest of the recruits were hit by the aftershock, sending them tumbling to the ground in a heap. Gohan coughed, the dust from the wasteland filling his lungs. He was winded, though miraculously unhurt, the dark energy emitting from the monster stronger than ever before. His emerald eyes lit up with the fiery blasts that now erupted from it's acid dripping mouth, burning craters into the surface of the planet.

"Get _off_ me you peasant!" Eris growled, gaining the others attention as they staggered to their feet.

The dark princess shoved Makhai off her, jumping down from his strong embrace before lifting her nose haughtily in the air. The fanged teen all but grinned cheekily, giving the halfling a wink.

"It's no use," Alala growled from several feet away, tossing several broken arrows to the floor, "It's skin is impregnable all of a sudden."

"Damn it," spat Kratos, regrouping as the beast continued to shriek, "our attacks are barely making a mark. This beast is far more powerful than it's offspring."

" _Really_ now," said Makhai with a roll of his eyes, "I never would have guessed, honestly Kratos you're like a genius or something!"

"Now really isn't the time Makhai," said Alala seriously, as Kratos glared daggers at the ginger haired teen, "We need a plan to beat this thing before it destroys another galaxy!"

Gohan bit his lip, racking his brains as he tried to think of a way of how to beat a colossal monster with impenetrable skin that spat their attacks back at them whenever they got close to it, when a disgruntled noise distracted him. He sighed in relief, as Bia levitated before them, her tracksuit bloodied and torn in places, though she appeared otherwise fine.

"Bia," Kratos spoke, rushing towards her and grasping her delicate palm in his, "Are you alright?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Kratos," said Bia, her yellow eyes fixated on the beast who was busy decimating the mountain range nearby, "It feels great anger towards us."

Eris snarled in distaste, "It's feelings are the least of my concerns right now Bia."

"No that's not it," the older teenager spoke calmly, "It draws it's strength from anger, ignited from the flames of a thousand suns in it's belly. It feeds off of negative energy and chaos. The more negative energy it is exposed to, the stronger it becomes."

Makhai frowned, "So you're saying…."

"That we need to work together," she stated, her gaze drifting to Kratos who abruptly let go out of her hand, "Not an easy feat I'm aware, but that means letting go of our grudges, and _believing_ in each other for once. Instead of dragging each other down and competing."

"Oh give me a break," snorted Deimos with a roll of his eyes.

"Not to rain on your noble parade Bia, but we _are_ in a competition," said Makhai, as a debris of rocks flew overhead from the beasts onslaught, "We're not here to hold hands and braid each others hair, we're here to win."

As the others muttered their agreement, Gohan mustered boldly, "Bia is right."

Kratos turned to him, raising an eyebrow in amusement, "Oh? And what suddenly makes you the expert? This is your first mission newbie, know your place."

"Oh I know my place," the eleven year old spoke dangerously, "I was chosen for the same role you were Kratos, which like it or not makes me your competition."

The older teen blinked, as he continued, "I may not be as experienced as the rest of you, but right now that doesn't matter. We have a job to do, and what matters is that we finish it before that monster destroys everything in its path. I don't like it much either, but if Bia is right and it draws power from the negative energy that we all harbour for each other then we all have to swallow our pride, suck it up and beat this thing. At least for now."

The others stared, intrigued by the young half-saiyan's words until Makhai gave him a wicked grin, "Well, you've certainly got balls kid. And I'd be showing myself up if I didn't chip in after that little speech."

Gohan blushed, as Bia and Alala smiled.

"Surely you can't be serious!" Kratos spat, "Where is your sense of honour towards competition?!"

"They'll be no competition if we're all wiped from existence Kratos," Eris drawled, straightening her horned crown atop her head.

"Yeah so stop being a negative Nancy and help us beat this ugly git!" Makhai spouted cheerily, raising his arm and placing his hand in the centre of them all.

Gohan, Bia and Alala followed suit, their hands falling on top of the other in comradery, looking towards the others expectantly.

"I refuse," Kratos snarled, still glaring daggers at Gohan. Though with a pointed look from Bia he sighed, placing his hand on top of hers reluctantly.

"Yeah, _no_ ," said Eris, turning away from the group and kicking off into the air.

"In your dreams," Deimos scoffed, before following Eris swiftly into the sky.

"Oh well, suit yourselves," Makhai shrugged after them, lifting their hands in salute, "GO TEAM!"

"I can't wait for this to be over," Kratos drawled, as they all powered up and blasted towards the awaiting beast.

Gohan was the first to arrive to the fray after Eris and Deimos, who were showering the destructive monster with a calculated onslaught, courtesy of their fists. The young saiyan joined them in rapid succession, delivering a spinning kick to the beast's skull that sent a sonic boom echoing across the planes. But alas, it did no such damage. It's tentacles were wild, swiping at the air with such ferociousness that it was difficult to get close to the brute.

"TAKE THIS!" Makhai bellowed, stretching out his palms and releasing an enormous spherical blast that careened towards their enemy.

"NO DON'T!" Deimos cried, but it was too late, the monster opened it's black hole of a mouth and gulped the powerful orb down, whole.

It's skin glowed brightly, before it spat the energy back at them with another shock of an explosion, causing them to retreat so that they didn't get caught in it. They had barely escaped, smoking and slightly singed, when the green skinned hellion rounded on Makhai.

"IDIOT!" shouted Deimos, a vein protruding from his bald head, "Swallowing your energy only makes it stronger!"

"W-what?!" he yelled back, "It can do that too and you knew?! Why didn't you say anything before?!"

"Because you cretins were too busy kissing and making up!"

"Gohan noticed it too," said Bia, causing the halfling in question to gape at her, "He feels very bad about it and wishes he had mentioned it sooner."

"Bia!" Gohan whined as the others glowered at him, "Will you _stop_ reading my mind please?!"

"Apologies young one," she smiled, "But your emotions are too strong to ignore, maybe you should work on controlling them more, it would be very useful in battle."

"Yeah let the newbie work on that _after_ we've destroyed this thing Bia," said Eris, dusting off her tracksuit and kicking another rouge tentacle away from her.

"If you had listened to Master Whis instead of making ridiculous jokes," Deimos continued, still arguing, "Then you would have known that!"

"Oi! Positive thoughts remember?!" said Alala forcibly, before sighing, "This thing is already growing stronger by the second. Which reminds me, any ideas on how we're going to beat it?"

"Our only hope is to get through that wall of tentacles and hit it with everything we've got," mustered Kratos, "We could blast it like the last one, though we'd have to be careful not to let it eat our attack. If it does then there's no way we will be able to destroy it, and I don't plan on failing Master Whis today."

"So we need some kind of distraction?" Makhai smirked, bowing to them comically, "Say hello to your master of deception. That I can do."

"I can use magic to suspend it's tentacles enough for the rest of you to get through," said Deimos, "Though you idiots will have to be quick about it, with how powerful it's become I'm not sure how long it will hold."

"Sounds like a plan," said Alala, "If a combined blast that strong can penetrate it's skin, I could get one of my arrows through it."

"I suggest you go straight to it's chest cavity in that case," offered Eris, "Even the greatest monsters have hearts, I doubt this creature is any different. It'll be an instant kill."

"I'm in," said Bia, a silver silhouette encompassing her frame, "Kratos, will you do the honours of leading us into battle?"

The hardened warrior smirked back before turning to Gohan, "What say you boy, think you can handle a full frontal attack?"

The young saiyan grinned, though his emerald eyes remained as hard as steel, "Oh you bet I can."

Finally, they were working together.

"Then let's go!" Kratos yelled, and at once they hurtled back towards the beast, save Makhai and Deimos who shot to the ground, awaiting their next move.

Through the tangle of tentacles they flew, careful to avoid the sharp whipping appendages as they rushed the monster in a series of rapid attacks. It was difficult to get close, as the tentacles provided a wall of safety for the beast, and Gohan, being the smallest was the only one able to slip past.

"Careful!" Alala cried, kicking a tentacle out of it's murderous path as it headed towards the young saiyan.

Another hit the assassin in the calves, causing her to jolt forwards before Gohan caught her by the scruff of her hoodie to stop her from falling. The pair stood back to back, firing off smaller blasts away from the beast's gaping mouth to create a path for Makhai's distraction.

Kratos, Eris and Bia were over the other side of the monster's bulbous head, in much the same position. Their limbs blurring in motion as they fought off the shrieking beast.

"Oi beasty! Feast your eyes on this!" Came a sudden holler, and to Gohan's surprise it worked. The monster inclined it's head over to Makhai, who was now in plain sight thanks to the path they had created. It seemed that the beast was just as shocked as the young halfling was, as it came face to face with Makhai's naked backside that was waving in front of him from the ground.

Eris face-palmed, as Kratos roared, "THAT'S your master distraction?!"

"It's working isn't it?!" The younger teen smirked from between his legs, his trousers shamelessly resting on his ankles, "DEIMOS NOW!"

"Great Zalama among us," the green-skinned hellion sighed in exasperation, before waving his hands in a series of complex moves, and causing the beast's thrashing tentacles to stop in motion.

"Let's do it Gohan!" Bia shouted, a ball of white hot Ki building in each of her palms.

The pre-teen nodded, as both Kratos and Eris got into position and with a mighty roar, they all unleashed their most deadly attacks.

"TITANS WRATH!"

"ROYAL DISCORD!"

"THEMIS CRASH!"

"KAMEHAMEHAAAAAAAAAAA!" Gohan yelled, releasing his energy as the blast erupted from his palm.

To his delight, the combined blast hit the beast dead in the chest, and the monster was so distracted that it failed to react, it's tentacles still suspended in the air. The recruits poured every inch of their power into the beam, but ridiculously, it still hadn't broken through it's slimy skin. It was hurting, quite obviously so as it roared and squealed, attempting to move it's limbs as smoke rose from it's chest cavity over where they presumed it's heart to be.

"KEEP PUSHING!" Kratos bellowed, sweat pouring from his brow as he channelled more energy into the blast.

The young saiyan gritted his teeth, just how much was it going to take to kill this thing?!

"Hurry up!" Deimos cried over the beam struggle, his outstretched hands quivering against the beast's might, "I can't hold this for much longer!"

"We need to get closer!" Alala shouted, kicking off from her spot on the ground and drawing her bow, "More power!"

"Gotcha!" Makhai growled, his trousers thankfully back where there should be, firing another sphere of amber energy towards the monster, "HAAAAAAAA!"

It careened over their heads, crashing into the creatures scales in an explosive wave of power. It howled in pain, and the familiar smell of burning flesh tickled Gohan's nostrils. Sickly green blood oozed from the great gash in the beast's chest, and Alala swiftly fired her arrow, the Ki infused spear shining brightly as it careened expertly towards the monster's heart.

"Damn it!" Deimos spat suddenly, his magical grip on the tentacles loosening.

In an instant, the deadly limbs began to thrash, crashing into Gohan and the others, their beams cutting off abruptly. The young saiyan cried out as he was sent flying into a nearby cliff face, the rock crumbling around him as his back painfully hit the jagged surface. He was bleeding profusely from a gash in his side, his head spinning from the impact. But he didn't even register the amount of pain he was in, as a blood curdling scream cut through the air, causing his mouth to run dry and his eyes to widen in horror.

The alien creature had attacked them in a blind fury, and Alala was close. Too close. It felt as though it was happening in slow motion, as the beast grabbed her around the waist with one of it's newly free tentacles, squeezing her so tightly that Gohan could have sworn he heard her ribs crack. The recruits watched with gripping terror as it opened it's gaping mouth even wider, and then, just like how Eris' tornado had sucked the monster into it's depths, did the beast suck the light and heat from the red hot sun above them, and swallowed Alala down it's thick throat immediately after.

Gohan's blood ran cold, and he was certain that the icy feeling wasn't all to do with the fact that the sun had been snuffed out as easily as blowing out a birthday candle. The planet had been engulfed in complete darkness, his breath forming clouds in the freezing air. It felt as though he had been temporarily dunked underwater, his hearing distant and his brain cloudy, until a monstrous roar broke through the surface, and he realised that the wasteland surrounding him was on fire.

"ALALA!" He cried, coming to his senses, "NO! ALALA!"

He felt someone grab him from behind, stopping him from charging at the rampaging beast in front of him, who was too busy breathing fire than to pay any attention to the remaining recruits on the ground.

"Gohan!" Makhai yelled, the pre-teen realising it was his friend who had hold of him, "Gohan we need to leave!"

"W-what?!" he gaped, struggling out of his incredibly strong hold, "Leave?! We can't just leave! Alala is inside that monster!"

Makhai didn't look too happy about it either, the dancing flames casting shadows over his face. Though it was Kratos that spoke.

"She's as good as gone," he stated boldly, shaking his head in distain, "We need to depart before that beast devours us too."

Gohan couldn't believe what he was hearing, their solemn faces staring back at him. Were they all just going to give up so easily? Well he wouldn't. He couldn't just leave Alala, his friend, his comrade. The only one to comfort him on his first night of the camp. They had spent too much time trying to defeat this beast who had taken away countless worlds, he wasn't let it get away with it, especially after eating his friend!

"Fine, you go if you want to," he growled back, "I'm going to get Alala out."

"You're a fool!" Deimos spat, his dark eyes wide and frantic, "Without the sun we will perish within minutes! We may be dead and immune to most climates, but this isn't one of them!"

The young boy gulped, his eyes hardening, "I have to try."

"Try all you want, it's no use!" Kratos roared, "Alala is gone. The best we can do is ask Master Whis to bring us back to Lord Beerus' world before we all cease to exist! We will take solace in the hopes that we can bring that best to justice before it destroys any more suns! Where I come from, to retreat and regroup is the best course of action in defeating a powerful enemy, before anyone else gets slain."

"Alala is still in there," Gohan glowered, his hands balling up into fists as a ripple of electricity rippled across his torso, "I can sense her energy, and where _I_ come from, we don't leave anyone behind. No matter what the cost."

With that, the halfling kicked off from the ground, ignoring the irate shouts behind him. The air was unbearably cold, freezing Gohan's insides down to the bone. He didn't really have a plan of sorts, he just knew he had to get to Alala, her Ki was weakened but it was most certainly still there. The creature had a weak point, he knew that, they had managed to penetrate it's solid scales and as a result there was a gaping hole in it's chest. Still, there was a matter of getting past it's tentacles and dodging it's acidic saliva. He swallowed dryly, he prayed that Alala hadn't been too hurt by it's deadly insides.

But how could he get her out? The hole they had made on the outside was too small, and by now the girl would surely be making her way through it's intestines. If only he could make a bigger exit! The monster roared again, its enormous mouth spitting and snapping at the air, the light from the fires dancing in it's dark eyes. It seemed enchanted, memorised by the light -

And it was then did Gohan get a very brave, and very stupid idea.

He stopped suddenly in the air, gathering a small ball of Ki in his palm and firing towards it's gigantic pupil, making a direct hit.

The beast squealed in agony, breaking out of it's trance and rounding on the half-saiyan who stood strong on the ground in front of it. Gohan let an almighty bellow escape his chest, ignoring the icy chill from the roaring winds he created as he pulled every part of his energy to the surface. His emerald eyes grew darker, as his blonde hair spiked further atop of his head, leaving a stubborn bang wavering over his forehead. He growled menacingly, his golden aura gathering around him as his power surged, building and building so that he now resembled a shining golden beacon in amongst the desolate wasteland. The fires blew out, the air from the sunless sky growing ever colder. Icicles began to form on cliff faces and rocks as the dusty ground hardened with frost.

"GOHAN!" He heard Makhai yell from somewhere in the distance, "WHAT THE BLEEDING HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

Though the young boy ignored him, his blazing aura growing ever bigger and brighter, electricity sparking and crackling in amongst the dancing flames that encompassed his body. The amount of light he was emitting seemed to enchant the beast, who slithered towards him at a surprisingly quick speed. He could hear the shouts of the other recruits as the monster towered above him, and opened it's mouth, exposing the great gaping maw of teeth drenched in sizzling acid that caused the rows and rows of gums to smoke and sizzle. The heat radiating from the monster was suffocating, though the pre-teen grinned wickedly through the humid air.

"You seem pretty tough to be able to swallow whole suns," said Gohan, still grinning, "Let's see if you can handle a super saiyan."

If his heart was any use at all, he was certain it would be pounding by now. Though the halfling stood strong, allowing the beast to come forth. The other recruits then watched, with horror, as the youngest recruit disappeared into the monster's mouth, swallowing him hole in the same way it had taken Alala.

"No Gohan!" Makhai yelled desperately, starting forwards until he was forcibly pulled back by a raging Kratos.

"You're not going after him!" the older teenager snarled, as Bia screamed after the young boy, "I won't have any more of you idiots die on my watch!"

"Get off him!" Eris spat, prying his strong hands off the red head though keeping hold of him herself, "Let's go Makhai, there's nothing we can do. Maybe Master Whis-"

"Master Whis is going to be _so_ disappointed in us," sighed Deimos, "Either way, we should get going before we cease to exist."

"Poor Gohan, poor Alala," Bia sniffed, "We should have stopped them."

Kratos said nothing, though his eyes averted momentarily towards the seemingly indestructible monster. Makhai's shoulders visibly slumped, tears welling in his eyes.

"It was their own fault," Deimos said snidely, "This would never have happened if one of us just took charge. Working together? Ha! I've never heard of anything so ridiculous in all of my afterlife-!"

His rant was cut short, however, by a soft golden glow that seemed to be emitting from the literal belly of the beast. The ball of light started off small, then it started to grow and grow, getting bigger, stronger, brighter with every passing second. The beast made a startled noise, it's bulbous head darting around in confusion, it's eyes widening in sheer horror as it glanced at it's rapidly expanding, golden belly.

"Er, are you lot seeing what I'm seeing?" Makhai asked meekly, the sound of energy charging ringing in their ears.

 **KA-BOOM!**

The inter-dimensional monster exploded in a shower of brilliant light and fragments of jelly-like flesh. Copious amounts of acid rained upon them like a downpour in a thunderstorm. Deimos immediately mustered a force field, protecting them from the flesh-burning liquid. But as they looked across the wasteland, their eyes widened in disbelief and amazement.

For there, amongst the smoking pile of remains of the beast, was Gohan. His hair was still ablaze with gold, his aura pulsating around his body in refreshing waves of light in the darkness. He looked a little worse for wear, what with his skin red and sizzled in places and his tracksuit trousers burnt to tatters. But he was still standing. Standing with his stance strong as he held a similarly burnt and frazzled Alala protectively in his arms. She was still breathing, thank goodness, although her violet skin was red raw and her tracksuit barely covered the rest of her body.

Gohan breathed a sigh of relief, giving the flabbergasted group in the shield a goofy smile before his golden hair reverted back to black and his onyx eyes rolled to the back of his head. He felt his body hit the icy ground, the weight of Alala firmly on top of him as Makhai's voice cut through the air. He had no idea what he had said, though in his semi-conscious state it sounded like a very rude word. Though Gohan didn't have time to contemplate any longer, as he allowed himself to fall into nothingness.

* * *

"…stupid brat nearly got us all killed."

"Yeah right... saved us all!"

"...bit of an exaggeration."

"You're just jealous ... didn't think of it first Deimos-"

"Like I'd be ... stupid half-breed!"

"- I mean, what nutter thinks of that? Oh hang on a tick, I'll just jump into the gaping mouth of an inter-dimensional beast with a thousand teeth to save my mate and kill the thing from the inside!"

The first thing that Gohan noticed, was that there was a lot of voices surrounding him. The second, was that he was lying on something very comfortable, something very comfortable that he had grown all too familiar with in the last few weeks, months or however long he had been here. But why were they all here in his sleeping quarters? Surrounding his bed? The last thing he remembered was battling that immensely powerful inter-dimensional beast, falling into the endless abyss of teeth and then -

He gasped, jolting upright immediately and snapping open his eyes, coming to rest on a pair of smiling golden eyes.

"Morning Hero! How you feeling?" Makhai jested, causing the young saiyan to recoil away from him in shock.

"Argh!" He yelped, "Do you have to sit so close?!"

"Charming that," the older boy scoffed, leaning back on the chair closed to his bedside, "And I've been by your side ever since you got yourself out of that beast. Holding your hand, stroking your hair, whispering sweet nothings in your ear…"

"He hasn't stopped sobbing since we got you back here," said Eris, who was standing next to him, "It was rather pathetic actually."

"Your just jealous of the manly bond we share," Makhai huffed.

"Hardly," she replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Where's Alala, is she alright?" Gohan asked, cutting across them.

"She's just fine, thanks to you," came a voice, and the young saiyan was relieved to find that the girl in question was sat at the foot of his bed, a beaming smile upon her face, and fully healed.

He smiled back, glad to see that they had all made it off that desolate planet in one piece. They were all there, Bia was stood next to Alala, an affectionate hand resting upon her shoulder, whilst Deimos and Kratos stood a ways off, the latter staring out of the enormous window with an unreadable expression upon his features. Gohan looked down, realising he was wearing his shiny golden pyjama's, and he was free of burns and crimson dirt.

"It's lucky that your head is so thick-skulled, else you wouldn't have survived that," Deimos sneered, though there was a spark of amusement hidden deep within his eyes.

"Um thanks?" mustered Gohan, causing the other recruits to laugh.

"Crazy stunt you pulled there," said Makhai, shaking his head, "mind telling us just where all that power is hiding in such a tiny-"

"Now now, thanks enough interrogation don't you think?"

The recruits turned, surprised to see that their mentor had suddenly appeared in the centre of the boys sleeping chamber.

"Master Whis?" the young halfling blinked, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to congratulate you on your victory," said Whis, his lips quirked into a smile, "I must say I was pleasantly surprised that you all survived when I came to retrieve you, not to mention having taken care of the Supreme Kai's problem so quickly. He is most delighted. Though you managed to get yourself into a bit of a mess didn't you Gohan? You certainly know how to keep things interesting."

"Well, I couldn't just leave Alala there," he mustered, blushing bright crimson.

"And do you think I would have too?" he asked, causing the recruits to gape.

"W-what?"

"My dear boy, I was watching the whole time," said Whis, "I wouldn't leave any of my recruits to perish at such a crucial time. A new God of Destruction needs to be selected after all, and with less recruits it means less chance of finding one now doesn't it?"

The young saiyan couldn't believe his ears, although it made complete sense. Whis really wasn't going to leave them to be wiped from existence! Well now he just felt silly.

"That being said," the deity continued, "The dedication you showed to your comrade today was exemplary, not to mention the boldness and bravery you showed when standing up to your peers."

He didn't think his face could get any redder, when Whis turned to the other recruits, "And I do believe that you've all learned an important lesson from this task. For the power of one, if fearless and focussed is formidable, though the power of working together is far greater. Congratulations to all of you."

"Thank you Master," they chorused, bowing their heads in respect.

Whis smiled, "Now I will need all of you to work together to make sure that our youngest recruit stays on bed rest for the foreseeable future."

"W-what?!" Gohan gaped, "But why?! I need to train! I need to get stronger!"

"Your enthusiasm is commendable Gohan," said the Angel with a sigh, "But rest is just as important as training."

Something sang within his memories, it was the same words his father had used before The Cell Games. At a time when Gohan had wondered why his father seemed so calm, when the world was falling apart, counting down the days to their inevitable doom. How could his father be so care free at a time like this? Did he have a secret weapon or something? But of course, there was a weapon. Gohan himself.

He gulped, as Whis' calculated gaze surveyed him. Did he know? Was he reading his mind?

"Yeah I need a rest after all that," said Makhai, shaking him out of his thoughts, "You nearly gave me a heart attack mate."

"You can't have a heart attack if your dead, stupid," said Eris.

"Then why do your words hurt so much?" he weeped mockingly, clutching a hand to his chest.

"Either way, a couple of days rest would be good for you Gohan," said Whis knowingly, "A Saiyan gets stronger when they come back from the brink of death after all."

"What?!" Deimos gaped, "How is that even fair?"

"Can that work still if I'm already dead?" asked the halfling, cutting across him.

"Nothing is impossible," the blue-skinned deity replied happily, "Come now everyone, Lord Beerus' sheets won't change themselves now will they?"

"Pretty sure you've got the power to just make them do that if you wanted them to," Makhai drawled, ruffling Gohan's hair playfully before begrudgingly following the others back down the spiral staircase.

He sighed, it was nightfall already, and he turned his head to gaze out the window at the twinkling stars, jumping when he realised that he was not alone.

"Kratos?" he mustered tentatively, realising that the older boy had been staring at him for quite some time.

The ancient warrior sighed, his muscular arms folded across his chest as he stepped away from the window. The young saiyan stared back, the boys expression still unreadable. They were silent for a while, making Gohan feel uneasy, when finally he said -

"I was wrong."

"Huh?"

"I was wrong," repeated Kratos, "About you."

"Y-you were?" he blinked disbelievingly.

"What you did out there today was… noble," he said slowly, "And even though I still believe you are too young and inexperienced to be here… you're not entirely useless."

"Er, thank you?"

"Don't mention it," Kratos shrugged, taking long strides towards the staircase before he stopped, his eyes hardening at Gohan, "Seriously, don't mention it, or else I'll think twice about saving your backside should you decide to act so valiantly on another mission. Am I clear?"

"Crystal," Gohan gulped, watching as he disappeared beyond the staircase.

He sighed as soon as his footsteps retreated, flopping himself down on the fluffy pillows and breathing deeply, his body finally relaxing into the mattress.

Rest was good after all, Gohan was a boy who certainly enjoyed his sleep. He knew his body must heal fully before he began training again for want of him not injuring himself, though he wasn't certain just how durable he was now he was dead. He wasn't stupid after all, it was obvious that Whis had someway to heal him, and had done so partly, so that it allowed for his stamina and strength to heal naturally. Whether it be for a biological reason or for him to just learn a lesson, he wasn't sure, Whis was a complicated character after all. Whichever way it was, it was certainly boring. He didn't want to be stuck in his sleeping chambers for the next few days when he had been spending all of his time here pushing his body and brain to the limits.

He sighed again, the pile of unread books on his bedside cabinet taunting him. He did have a lot to get through still after all, the other recruits were way ahead of him in terms of book smarts, which had been an unusual notion to grasp for a boy genius such as Gohan. Making his decision, the halfling sat up, grabbing the top one off the pile and bringing it into bed with him, lying on his side as he inspected it, the soft glow from the stars illuminating the engraving on the leather bound cover.

 _The Hero, Perses_

He frowned, it was the very book that Makhai had given him on his first day at the camp. One of which he had never read, though Alala had apparently said was interesting. It wasn't required reading, though seemed like a good read to indulge himself in after an epic battle. He could worry about the required texts later, he was a fast reader after all. It wasn't a huge book by any means, so shouldn't take him more than a couple of hours. Then he could get onto the hard stuff.

Settling himself down comfortably, the young saiyan flipped the cover. It was an ancient text in every meaning of the word, the pages worn, yellow and faded and the leather binding smooth and fraying. The words were handwritten in ink, with neat loops and swirls joining up the lettering. As his onyx eyes scanned the first paragraph, a bubble of excitement grew in his chest. It was a fantasy it seemed, about an old war hero. Gohan _loved_ reading about war heroes.

 _Three-hundred and twenty-one years before age, a boy was born on an ancient planet that has long since been lost to time. Though this story begins some years before that, when a lonely Kai of Supreme divinity stumbled across the galaxy it resided in. A humble planet to the outside galaxies, though housed some of the most powerful warriors the universe has ever seen. The Kai, of benevolent beauty and wisdom fell in love with an accomplished fighter with an extraordinary heart. And it wasn't long before their love created a new life, in the form of a baby boy._ _The boy, who they named Perses, was said to be the strongest of them all._

 _Bound to duty beyond her control, the Kai had no choice but to leave her love and son in the realm of the living, whilst she returned to her sacred realm. The laws of the divine did not permit her to see them again, but despite this, her son prospered._

 _Half mortal, half God, the boy was baptised in the fire of combat from an early age. Taught never to retreat, never to surrender and told that death on the battle field was the greatest glory that he could achieve in his life. The traditions of thousands of years of warrior society fled through his veins, the beating hearts of his ancestors pounded in his ears as he faced battle after epic battle. He bore everything his father had taught him like a shield, that protected him in times of turmoil, for which he would always overcome. The warriors of his planet looked towards him to lead the next generation of soldiers, he was their light, their beacon of hope and posterity._

 _Though Perses did not truly know what he was, for want of his father trying to protect him. He did not wish the boy to harbour bad feelings towards the mother that left him, nor to the Gods that had created the universe. Instead, Perses was told that his mother was an incredible warrior who had perished in an epic battle weeks after his birth. And so Perses did not know or understand his power fully. He and his comrades were aware that he had an enormous amount of hidden potential, that would appear in great times of danger or rage. It would come in fleeting, short waves of unbelievable intensity, but would always vanish with the moment._

 _Perses would not understand the true extent of his potential until he was twenty-one years old, when his race were caught up in a great war on a galactic scale. It has been said that it was the greatest war the universe has ever seen, though Perses, valiant and strong, the hero of his planet led his planet to glory. However, he was still but a boy, young and inexperienced, the heights of the power he had achieved causing him to become cocky and reckless. He became negligent of the task at hand, and his father, whom he had loved and looked up to all of his life, was slaughtered by the enemy._

 _Blaming himself and overcome by grief and anger, Perses' power erupted, overwhelming the enemy and destroying the fiends responsible for starting the great war. Unfortunately, the young man's influx of energy was too great, and his comrades, bruised and wounded from battle were unable to stop him from destroying himself. Perses was destroyed by his own power, the very same power that he believed he could have used to stop the enemy from killing his father._

 _Though Perses' journey was not over, and instead of passing on to The Otherworld, he was selected by an Angel to become the next God of Destruction. The Angel had been watching Perses for quite some time, and grew interested in the young man's incredible hidden strengths. Perses accepted to become the current destroyer's successor without a moments hesitation, wanting to make a difference to the universe and make up for the mistakes he had made in his life._ _As the years flew by, Perses power grew. He harnessed the energy of destruction, along with obtaining Ki so great that he was almost able to rival the God of Destruction himself. Through this power, he had achieved greatness as a junior destroyer, and was on the path to becoming a righteous and benevolent God._

 _However, one night, a prophecy came to light from the Oracle of the divine world. Something sparked within Perses, an obsession so great that it started to warp his mind. He became weary of mortals and their flaws, he developed the belief that the Gods should be doing more to wipe the stain of life from the universe._ _The Angel grew concerned, and confronted him. He told him of his true parentage in the hopes that it would help Perses to understand that Gods and mortals could live in harmony, and that neither were of greater value than the other. Unfortunately, Perses did not take lightly to the revelation, and it drove him mad. He had completely lost sight of the hero he once was, and, believing that the universe was corrupt and unjust, attempted to destroy it, in order to rebuild._

 _Knowing what he truly was, he created a monster than began to lay waste to the universe, causing chaos throughout the cosmos. Though the Angel did not know of his plans, having had grown fond of the young man over the years, blinded by the love he felt as though he was his own son, unable to accept that he had noticed the darkness building in his heart._

 _Imbedded in lies and deception, Perses read the great texts of history, gaining in-depth knowledge of divine and mortal ways to take over the universe. In it, he found the legend of an ancient sword, a sword of immeasurable power that with it, he would no doubt become unstoppable. Perses felt betrayed that the Angel had not mentioned to him, and came to the realisation that his mentor had become suspicious of the young destroyer in traning. The sword harboured a secret that Perses knew if it fell into any other hands but his own would surely put an end to him and his plans, just like the prophecy had foretold. For you see, the secret of the sword was -_

The page had been ripped out.

Gohan blinked, flicking through the rest of the pages that didn't seem to have any more of the story to it. Just bits and pieces of old heroic feats that this Perses had achieved before he had seemingly died. He sighed, tossing the book towards the end of the bed. What a waste of time, and the story was just getting good!

He had an odd feeling about it though, this Perses person seemed very similar to himself. The fact that he had tremendous hidden strength that had inadvertently gotten his father killed, not to mention that he was spirited away to become the next God of Destruction instead of passing onto Otherworld, he was even a half-breed for goodness sake! Gohan felt a shiver run down his spine, it was stupid. It was only a story after all. Maybe he just felt a little weird because he had been eaten by a giant inter-dimensional monster only a few hours prior.

Something tingled in the back of his senses, and soon enough did the sound of small footsteps reach his ears. He smiled as Alala's dark hair appeared at the top of the staircase, she grinned back as she approached, an enormous tray of food in her hands.

"I thought you might be hungry," the assassin winked, gliding over to him, "And I'm not going to get in Whis' bad books for not making sure you're fed."

Gohan's stomach growled loudly, causing the two youngsters to laugh.

Her smile widened as she sat herself down on the edge of the bed, watching him devouring everything without a moments hesitation.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to how much you eat," she chuckled, as he forced a whole hunk of meat down his throat whole.

"I always get super hungry after a fight," he replied with a loud belch, swallowing his mouthful, "Whoops, sorry."

Alala waved him off, though her nose was wrinkled slightly in distaste, "So how are you holding up here by yourself? You bored yet?"

"I was," said Gohan, wiping his sticky mouth with the napkin on the tray, "I was reading that storybook you gave to Makhai, but the rest of the pages were ripped out."

"Storybook?" she frowned, confused.

"Yeah, that one over there," he said, pointing to the thick binder at the foot of his bed.

Alala grabbed it, her eyes widening slightly, "Yeah Gohan, this isn't a storybook."

"It's not?"

"No, it's real."

The young saiyan nearly choked on his next mouthful, "R-real?!"

"Of course it is," she sighed, "though I suppose you wouldn't know being a newbie. It's a history book written by Master Zuno."

"Who's Master Zuno?" he asked, come to think of it he hadn't noticed an author.

"To be honest, no one is certain who he is or where he came from," Alala explained sheepishly, "Though he knows everything about everyone in our universe and all that has ever happened. Because of this, he demands the upmost respect, he could tell you things about yourself that even you didn't know."

Gohan's eyes widened, "Have you ever met him?"

"No," she replied, "Though I know a few spirits that have. Some go looking for answers from him, but there are some things just not worth knowing. He and his attendants write a lot of the texts we read for our training, including history books about past heroes and deities. I don't know whether they've been ordered to do it by any other higher power, or if they just do it as a hobby. All I know is that one day my name will be there, displayed in the library of heroes and Gods. Who knows, after what you did today they might write a book about you too!"

"Oh I don't know about that," he said, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks before a thought popped into his mind, "So if this story about Perses is true, then what happened?"

"I'm not sure," Alala sighed, "someone had already ripped out the pages by the time I came across it."

"But who would do that?"

"I have my suspicions," she said thoughtfully, "Though I haven't mentioned it to anyone, I didn't want to be blasphemous after all. I tried to tell Makhai about it, but you know what he's like, I bet he hasn't even read the damn book!"

Gohan said nothing, he didn't want Makhai to get into trouble.

"I've managed to do a bit more research about this Perses," she continued, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "Apparently this bloke was unbelievably strong, almost as strong as Lord Beerus!"

"W-what?" he blinked, "So you're saying that the God of Destruction he was succeeding was supposed to be Lord Beerus?"

"Well duh!" Alala exclaimed, "Master Zuno only writes about things that happened in universe seven, because that's what he knows! Destroyer Gods live for billions of years, and Angels have been around since the dawn of existence! Why do you think Whis is in such a big rush to find the next God of Destruction? Do you really think after _that_ many years of practice he'd leave it until the last minute? No, it's because there _was_ a candidate, long before us, that turned into a complete nutcase because of some prophecy that predicted his destruction!"

"That's mental!" Gohan gasped, reeling from shock over the revelation, "But Perses isn't around now, I wonder what happened to him?"

"My only guess is that Lord Beerus destroyed him before he completely wrecked the universe," said Alala, "But if what the book says if true and Whis loved Perses like a son, it must have been a difficult decision to make. Angels aren't usually capable of mortal emotion, they don't procreate or have any desire to do such things. Angels have a duty to train their appointed God, serve them and await the next. It's unusual for a deity like Whis to harbour those feelings. That's why I think Whis was the one to rip the rest of the pages out."

"Even so, poor Whis," the pre-teen said dejectedly, his mind whirring. Just because someone wasn't deemed capable of love didn't mean that it didn't happen. Look at Piccolo for example, he was his father's greatest enemy, the reincarnation of a Demon King who had once laid waste to the entire planet. But because of Gohan he had changed, he had loved the young boy like a son and had even sacrificed himself for him.

His breath caught in his throat, would Piccolo still see him as a son despite the path he had chosen?

"Thinking of home again?" Alala asked, jumping him out of his thoughts.

"Am I really that obvious?" he sighed guilty, as the girl gave him a knowing smile.

"Perhaps," she shrugged, "Bia was right in saying that you wear your emotions on your sleeve."

"Yeah, sorry," said Gohan, "I need to work on that."

"Nah," said Alala with a reassuring wink, "Let them think what they want. I don't think it's such a bad thing. After all, it's what makes you _you_ , Hero."

He flung his pillow at her, hitting her square in the face. They laughed heartily, the aftermath of battle and troubles of the Gods melted into the back of their minds as their pillow fight continued into the night.

Or at least until Deimos kicked them out anyway.

* * *

 _10th June, 2018._

* * *

 **Reviews:**

Aaron Leach : Thank you!

Mayonaka Yue: Thanks, hope you enjoyed the fight!

Lightningblade49: thanks for your review, glad you got that vibe from Kratos. So he's not completely redeemed, but hey at least he admitted he was wrong in this chapter right? There will be more of Kratos and his character to be explored as the story goes on. As for super saiyan two, I kept it as such as I didn't want to break into super saiyan three too quickly, but it will certainly come soon ;)

victor0606 : Thank you :)

yunayuu: thanks! Keep coming back!

iikd: aw thank you! sorry you're not happy with the pairing, but I aim to do the whole Gohan and Videl thing very differently. Things will happen in this story (spoiler) that will make Videl act slightly differently to how she does in the original, which I aim to be very entertaining. Hope you are able to give it a chance despite the Gohan/Videl being over done! But I just wanted to keep some things true to the original at least ;)

Chosen To Die: Thank you so much! That review means the world!

Animefortin95: Oh I think so too ;)

X3runner : not sure what you mean by parking? I aim to keep Gohan moving up through the ranks of super saiyan, gives some more background and explanation to his power and what he can achieve in that sense ;) Im not doing dragonball heroes stuff, not too familiar with that really! Thanks for reviewing!

ArkonWinfel: haha good spot! they didn't pay attention because they are all a bit bigheaded and focussed on their own power. You are right that the beast consumed light rather than aura though xD

ashlovesdbz: thank you for the fabulous review! Glad you are feeling connected to the characters and the pace is good! :)

Guest: Thank you!

Iwik: haha thank you! I like Gohan the cuddle monkey too :3 bless him. Im not sure how long this story is going to be, but I'm not imagining it to be a 70 odd chapter extravaganza nor a 20 chapter short story. If you think of an average book around 30-50 chapters its probably going to end up somewhere around there :)

Guest: some more snippets of the recruits pasts will be revealed, but I'm not aiming to go too far in depth with them just because they have all been dead for centuries and its not imperative to the story. Also I don't want to detract from Gohan's story too much! :)


	6. The Z-Sword

_Thank you so much for your continuing support, I've had so many positive reviews and it really makes it worthwhile when I get complements on my writing and how the story is progressing, so thank you for that and please keep doing it because your lovely reviews only make me want to write more! I've been writing for years but not much fanfiction so it really surprises me and boosts my confidence when you say such lovely things! So heres another chapter for you all to enjoy (hopefully). I am so excited by this story and it's characters and I cannot WAIT for Gohan to get back to Earth. It will be entertaining I promise ;) I really hope you enjoy chapter 6 as much as the other chapters! I had a blast writing it. And Kudos for those who guess what scene from what film I had inspo from. I just couldn't resist ;) ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

 **The Z-Sword**

 **xxxx**

Gohan couldn't sleep. It had been the fourth sleepless night he had had ever since he had read about the supposed hero Perses, and yet despite being back to training as normal and being exhausted twenty-four seven, he just couldn't seem to switch off his brain.

Whis had been right in the fact that rest would do him some good, and the young saiyan had never felt so strong. He was certainly more powerful than before he had died, and there was a part of him that could feel another level of strength deep within him, just begging to be unleashed. Though at this rate, with the amount of sleep he was sorely lacking, he wasn't going to reach the next level any time soon.

He sighed begrudgingly, kicking off his blankets, pulling on his trainers and exiting the boys sleeping quarters without another moments hesitation. Makhai's snores followed him all the way to the common room, which to his disappointment was empty. Recently when he couldn't sleep, he would come down to find Alala still awake, and the pair of them would spend hours discussing the mysterious Perses and make up elaborate stories as to how he could have met his end.

Yet despite the funny jests they had, something about the old junior destroyer had irked him. How could someone just disappear out of the history books like that? More importantly, why would someone want to cover it up? Even though it must have been hard for Whis, he didn't think that he was the type of person to cover his tracks. The Angel didn't seem to have a deceitful bone in his body, and was always harping on about how 'one learns best from their mistakes'. So why would he erase one of his own? It's not like it was Whis' fault that Perses had gone rogue from what he could tell. He just wished that he knew what had happened in the rest of the book.

Gohan sighed again, it was all his mother's fault. The ox-princess had always taught him to strive for knowledge, and that value, coupled with the halfling's ever growing curiosity had ingrained itself so deeply within him that it really bothered him when he didn't know something. It was like he was missing part of a puzzle. Alala had made a joke about him being obsessed with the history of Perses, and had rightly pointed out that it didn't matter. Perses was gone and _they_ were the next candidates in line to become the God of Destruction. But for some reason, that just wasn't enough closure for Gohan.

Without paying too much attention to where he was going, the young saiyan headed out of the common room and down the cavernous corridors. Before he knew it, he was walking around the ancient courtyard, the light from the sparkling galaxies above illuminating the stone pathways in a soft silvery glow. Mind whirring, his thoughts carried him deeper into the maze of bushes, that became wilder and less maintained as he went. Deep red roses protruded from the greenery, their sharp thorns lining the path that was steadily becoming overgrown with weeds and broken pieces of rotten bark.

Gohan looked up finally, realising that he had been walking for quite some time, and wasn't entirely certain just where he was. He had never ventured this far into the ancient gardens, as he had never felt the urge to do so. Though something told him to keep going, and he relented, his eyes squinting though the darkness. At last, the path came to a head, and the young saiyan was forced to stop due to something blocking his way. His vision settled on another statue, though he hadn't seen any more on his journey through the overgrowth save for the ones back at the entrance to the camp.

He frowned, realising that the stone depiction was broken and laden with cobwebs. It certainly hadn't been as well kept as the others. Though despite it's sorry state, Gohan could make out the figure of a young man, humanoid and tall with lean muscles. His stone hair was straight and long, falling to his waist, pulled back by a cloth band that rested on his forehead. The statue had handsome features, and a cheeky grin so wide that it was a wonder it didn't split the stone in two. The statue's arms rested by his side in a strong stance, and he was wearing a ceremonial garb not too dissimilar form Lord Beerus'.

And as the light from the twinkling stars shone, Gohan's eyes widened, the plaque at the statue's feet becoming all too clear.

 _Perses_

 _321 B.A -_

Why was Perses' statue all the way out here? He thought, frowning. Someone was definitely hiding something. And furthermore, why did the statue have a birth date and no date of death?

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Gohan yelped at the sudden voice, whirling around so fast that he toppled over a fallen tree behind him. He crashed unceremoniously onto his backside, wincing as he did so, before his eyes found the source of the voice.

"Looks like I predicted right," the blue fish giggled, "The new recruit is certainly clumsy, then again, I'm never wrong."

"I'm not clumsy!" He protested, clambering quickly to his feet and narrowing his eyes at the strange creature, "You just startled me was all, you shouldn't sneak up on people, it's rude you know."

"Didn't your father teach you that you should always be aware of your surroundings?" she mused knowingly.

"H-how did you-?" Gohan gaped, finally taking note of the little blue fish who was half hanging out of a familiar looking fish bowl, her little fins resting upon the edge. The whole thing was suspended in midair by a golden staff that allowed her to hover closer towards him.

There was no denying that he was all too familiar with that fish bowl, he and Makhai had spent way too many hours cleaning them out when Kratos had gotten fed up with their jokes and ordered them on maid duty. The pre-teen was finally able to close his mouth as he spoke, "Y-you're the Oracle Fish?"

"Hm," the oracle observed, "You're not as primitive as you look, Saiyan."

"What are you doing all the way out here?" he asked, he had never seen the mysterious Seer before, even though he knew that she resided on Lord Beerus' planet.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that, recruit?" she said, eyeing him, "Although I already know the reason why. You can't sleep, and you are troubled. I only came out here to tell you to shut up because your thoughts were so loud that they disturbed my own slumber."

"Oh," Gohan mustered sheepishly, "Sorry."

"Fear not young one," she sighed, waving a fin in the air, "It's not like I haven't been in this situation before. Often I find deities or Gods to be wondering around the sacred garden of souls forgotten, many harbour great burdens or struggle to come to terms with their destiny. It has been many years since anyone has ventured this far though, you must have a lot on your mind."

The young saiyan sighed for a moment, the great statue of Perses encompassing his own shadow. "Can you tell me more about Perses?" he asked, inclining his head to the stone depiction, "I found a book about him, one that Master Zuno wrote. But half of the pages were missing."

"You're a curious one," said the oracle fish, "Why do you want to know of a God in training that was long before your time?"

"I'm just curious is all," Gohan shrugged, "And I find it odd that Whis hasn't mentioned him, yet according to the book he thought of Perses as a son."

"It is not wise to make assumptions of that which you are not certain of," she spoke firmly, "But know this young saiyan, some things are not spoken of in order to protect, not harm. You should not take Whis' reluctance as a sign of mistrust. Though for someone that was killed by a product of revenge, deception and evil, I can see why you think that."

The pre-teen let her words sink in carefully, "It's not that I think Whis is untrustworthy, far from it. I just want to know what happened is all, and why someone would want to cover it up."

"We all have a past we wish we could hide Son Gohan, even the Gods," the Seer replied, watching him thoughtfully, "I see that you have already compared yourself to Perses, it is only natural, considering how similar your backstories are."

Gohan's shoulders slumped, the oracle fish could see right through him, like most people. He needed to get better at hiding his feelings, even though Alala had said it was a good thing. Still, he didn't like it that people were able to read his mind so easily.

Sitting on the tree trunk with his chin in his hands, the Seer surveyed him, before she stated, "Perses was mad Gohan."

He looked up, listening intently as the little blue fish sighed, hovering towards him, "I'm afraid to say that what you saw in that book was true. In the beginning, Perses was one of the greatest men I ever knew. He was a clever young man, and saved the universe from imbalance on numerous occasions. Whis had formed a strong bond with him, Lord Beerus too, and Perses treated Whis as the father he had lost due to his negligence long ago. But despite these loving relationships he had found in this realm, he could not ignore the grief that still plagued his heart. Slowly, that grief turned into something darker, something all-consuming. Whis had noticed, of course, but how could he deny Perses the greatness of becoming the next God of Destruction like he had promised? The boy who he had nurtured and trained over a few centuries, treated like his own kin? But alas as the years crept by, so did Perses hatred for the way the universe worked. As Gods, he felt as though they were superior to mortals, and should be able to punish them accordingly when wars struck up all over the galaxies. Why should there be so much destruction? When Perses had the power to purge them all and start anew?"

Gohan could hardly believe his ears, "B-but that's crazy! He had no right to-!"

"Exactly Gohan," said the oracle, "It is not within a Gods jurisdiction to do such a thing. But Perses wasn't satisfied with this, and from there festered a hatred for the Gods themselves, only made worse when he found out that he was half Kai, and that his mother, the Supreme Kai of the Western province had abandoned both him and his father."

"So Gods aren't meant to have kids with mortals?" he asked, frowning, causing the fish to scoff.

"Of course not! Are you crazy?" she tutted, "How do you think Perses became so powerful? It's dangerous and can cause such a mess. The rules are even stricter now what with everything that went on, but I digress. Perses felt such anger towards the Gods, but relished in the knowledge that not only had he mastered the energy of destruction, he was also capable of creation because of his bloodline."

"Perses created a creature so foul, so inhumane that even The Supreme Kai today fears to utter it's name," she said solemnly, as the cogs in Gohan's head clicked into space.

"Makhai mentioned that there's only one Supreme Kai and his attendant left in our universe now," he said in realisation, "He said that a monster wiped the rest out, surely you're not saying-"

"That's correct young one," the oracle fish sighed solemnly, "Perses set the creature upon the Kai's, wiping all of them out except the East Kai who managed to escape. Perses slaughtered his own mother without a second thought."

"He sounds like the monster," said Gohan.

"Indeed," she replied, "Though Perses had become a master of deception at this time, so Whis and Lord Beerus had no idea that it was him who had unleashed the beast upon the universe. Perses recruited an evil wizard do his dirty work for him, controlling that _beast_ so that he didn't have to, and everyone was none the wiser."

"But they found out right?"

"Of course," said the Seer, "Eventually. For you see, there was a prohecy, a prohecy that I foretold. It predicted Perses' downfall by a mortal warrior, who could rival him. We are not permitted to reveal the future to mortals unless they had achieved full divinity, but Perses was so charming, so quietly unassuming that when he asked me what his future was I did not deny him. Unfortunately this fuelled Perses' hatred towards mortals even more, for no mortal power should be able to rival a Gods in his opinion. He chose not to heed my warning should he continue down this path of loathing, and instead set his zero mortals plan into motion."

"Zero mortals?" Gohan gasped, "Was he scared that much of the prophecy coming true?"

"Oh yes," she nodded, "and he was blinded by his goal of ending all mortal life, as well as this, he wanted to destroy the Gods so that only he remained. Whis and Lord Beerus soon found out about his plan, though he managed to slaughter thousands before they were able to stop him. For you see, the worrying thing was that he had grown almost as strong as Lord Beerus himself."

"So how did they stop him?" he asked, hanging onto every word.

"It wasn't easy," the oracle sighed, "Mostly due to the fact he had fled Lord Beerus' planet and was capable of inter-universal travel. Not only was he a threat to this universe, he was a threat to everything that had ever existed. Though Perses began to grow weak, mentally I mean. He had heard of the ancient sword of legend that resided in this universe, and he believed it to be the only thing that would help him take down the Gods and rule over the multiverse once and for all."

"I read about that sword," said Gohan, "The pages were ripped out before the secret of the sword was explained!"

"Not surprising," she observed, "The secret of the Z-Sword is not to be taken lightly. I have no doubt that it was taken out before any other destroyer in training sort it before their time, it would be unwise to allow it to fall into the wrong hands."

"But what does it do?" he frowned, "Is it really that powerful?"

The blue fish sighed, glancing around her, "Without giving too much away, the Z-Sword is a very powerful object, a weapon of the Gods. It is said that the one who is able to wield it has access to the greatest power in the universe, the two become one weapon, capable of cutting down the tightest of foes."

"Woah, wicked," the pre-teen gaped in awe.

"As soon as Perses entered universe seven in search of the Z-Sword were they upon him, and Lord Beerus finally defeated Perses in an epic battle that literally rocked the cosmos, it was lucky that he couldn't even make the sword move an inch in it's prison, or things would have ended very badly," the Seer told him. "They were worried that he may kill the last remaining Supreme Kai, for the Kai's and Destroyers are life linked. If one dies, so will the other."

"I-I didn't know that," said Gohan, enthralled by the revelation, "But despite everything he'd done, it must have been hard for Whis and Lord Beerus to kill Perses."

"Kill him?" the fish scoffed disbelievingly, "Perses is not dead Gohan, did you notice that his date of death is not etched in stone?!"

"Well I did," he blinked, "But I just thought that no one would have bothered to commemorate someone who nearly wiped out the universe. You're telling me he's still alive?!"

"Barely," she snorted, "Though if he were dead then his death date would automatically appear upon the statue. He may not have been an official God of Destruction, but he was as good as. Which is why he is remembered in stone, and these statues cannot be destroyed."

"So where is he now?" asked the young saiyan, his eyes glancing towards the statue of the wayward deity.

"The Void," said the Seer, a dark look in her eyes, "a realm of it's own creation, no one knows where it ends or where it begins, only that it is devoid of any life. It's so dark that no light can penetrate through it. Nothing can escape, and it is unusual for anything to live within it, Perses is so strong that not even The Void can kill him instantly. He has been trapped for over a thousand years, and yet he still lives."

"So Lord Beerus couldn't kill him?" he gaped.

The oracle fish shrugged, "It's not easy to kill a God Gohan, especially one of destruction."

"Don't worry," she continued, catching onto the worried look on his face, "It's impossible for Perses to escape The Void."

The oracle studied him further, as the halfling became lost in his own thoughts. He wasn't expecting the story to have been so downtrodden, and the fact that Perses was out there somewhere didn't sit right with him at all. Something else was bugging him though, something that the ever perceptive fish caught onto right away.

"Are you worried that if you continue down this path that you will end up like Perses?"

His eyes widened, her stare was penetrating as he swallowed thickly.

"It's just hard to imagine what I'll become," he sighed finally, "I've always had my father and Piccolo to guide me, and now-"

"You're not alone dear boy," she said wisely, "Even though it might feel that way sometimes. The values your family and friends have instilled within you will stay with you forever, if you let them. Here, in this world, you are bound to duty but can create your own path, enjoy yourself, make friends, get stronger."

The blue fish sighed, casting her gaze over to the broken statue of Perses, it's shadow had moved, thanks to the circling planet, bathing them both in a silver glow, "The most important thing to remember Gohan, is to never loose sight of yourself."

* * *

 **Planet Sagor, The Galaxy of Lost Souls, Age 770 - Three years after The Cell Games**

"I really don't know how I ended up in this situation if I'm quite honest with you," An adolescent voice rang out over the cave.

The cave ran deep underneath a dying world, a world that was ravaged by fire. Dying embers provided the only light within the darkness, casting eerie shadows through the humid smoke that filled the rocky cavern. It wasn't a planet that one would choose to visit, and why should they? It seemingly had no life upon it. Well, apart from one teenage hybrid, who was currently suspended in midair by a cage that protruded from the rock in the ceiling. He was wrapped in chunky metal chains, made of the hardest metal in the universe, katchin. Supposedly impossible to break out of.

Though the teenager did not look scared, or worried. No, he blew his ebony hair out of his face in a bored manner, the spikey mane now reaching his shoulders. The blue tracksuit he was wearing was dirt laden and tattered, though he looked otherwise unharmed. Well, apart from the fact that he was dead, the shining halo bouncing above his head too obvious to miss.

"Though I suppose sometimes you've got to get captured if you want a straight answer off of someone," He sighed, his onyx eyes beholding the skeleton in front of him, "So what about you? What's your story?"

The dusty skeleton lay motionless, as the embers crackled in the distance.

"Well I won't bore you with mine," said Gohan, folding his arms across his chest as he lay on his back, his one foot resting on the rungs of the cage, "It's a bit of a long story. See the thing is I'm in a bit of a competition with a group of misfit warriors to become the next God of Destruction. Throw in an Angel that likes to amuse himself by sending us on suicide missions and hey presto! You end up loosing a game of rock, paper, scissors and get stuck in a prison on a dead planet with a skeleton whose personality is nearly as bad as Kratos'."

He paused, frowning to himself, "And I still think Makhai cheated."

Suddenly, and without warning, the cage sprang open from beneath him, sending Gohan and the skeleton crashing down to the dusty floor below. The young saiyan yelped as his chains unraveled, though stopped just before he hit the ground, suspending him just above the fiery embers where he came face to face with the very being that was the cause of his capture.

"Well, well, well," the brute spoke in an amused tone, "What do we have here? A Saiyan brat all alone on my world. I must say I'm flattered, it's unusual to have guests. Especially one that bares the symbol of the Gods."

Gohan smirked, as the enemy's deep charcoal eyes surveyed the symbol on his uniform, "Well maybe you'd have more guests if you made the place look prettier. Bit off putting what with all the fire and skeletons. Might I suggest a flower garden?"

"Silence!" he growled, his voice echoing menacingly off the cave walls. He straightened himself up to full height, the glow of the embers lighting up the jagged stone throne he was sat upon.

The beast resembled some sort of devil, his enormous body made of coal and fire. His eyes were nothing but deep sockets of emptiness, and Gohan could see the glowing flames behind them. He was at least thirty feet tall, though the horns on his head made him appear even larger. His charcoaled skin burned with amber light, as he leered towards the chained halfling.

"You would do well not to test me _boy_ ," the devilish monster glowered, "I am Scurge, the ruler of the Galaxy of Lost Souls. The epitome of evil, the embodiment of death, all will bow down before-!"

"I know who you are," Gohan cut across him, causing the brute to blink, he obviously wasn't used to being interrupted, "You've been making a right mess of the surrounding galaxies recently, what with you sending out your 'lost souls' to purge other planets. Causes _a lot_ of destruction."

"Aha!" Scurge exclaimed, "So you have seen the beginning of the end, the end of everything! Once the lost souls lay waste to this galaxy, they will take over the next and the next, the universe will spiral into a deep cycle of death and destruction, and I Scurge will-!"

"Oh _spare me_ the evil monologue," the teen saiyan drawled in exasperation, "Blah blah blah death, blah blah take over the universe. Been there, done that. You bad guys are all the same…"

"SILENCE!" Scurge roared, his long fingernails digging into his throne and causing the stone to crack, "Insolent brat! You won't be so cocky once everything you meddling Gods hold dear will be burnt to ashes!"

"What so you're going to take over the universe by just setting it on fire?" he snorted, "Sounds pretty predictable if you ask me."

"Laugh all you want," the smouldering being chuckled darkly, "For once my crown is reunited with the flame of eternity I will be restored to my full might! My strength will be unrivalled, I will burn for all eternity and the universe will -!"

"So let me get this straight," said Gohan, interrupting again and causing the brute to growl, "You're going to stick your crown on the flame of eternity so that you effectively become immortal and set everything on fire?"

"A little simple, but yes that's the gist," Scurge spat, narrowing his fiery eyes.

"The same flame of eternity that is locked away in the temple of The Supreme Kai's?"

"The Kai's are no match for me!" the beastly brute exclaimed, "And it seems that I have already captured a most powerful candidate for the next God of Destruction. Once I have slaughtered the rest, no one will be able to stop me!"

The young saiyan sighed, "So tell me Scurge, where is this crown of yours?"

"This is my crown," he smirked triumphantly, tapping a claw-like finger to the horns on his head, "The source of my power."

"That's a crown?" Gohan blinked, "I thought it was a big eyebrow."

"IT'S A CROWN!" Scurge cried angrily, as the halfling shrugged.

"Anyway," said the teen, "It sounds like all I have to do to stop you is to knock that thing off of your head."

Scurge laughed with mirth, pulling himself up from his throne and approaching him in a wave of smoke and fire, "You cannot stop me child, I am the universe's doom! All will suffer, all will _burn_!"

"You know," Gohan smirked, "As tempting as it is to watch those pretty fireworks of yours, I'm going to have to go with plan B where I bust out of these chains, knock that tiara off your head and stash it away deep in the Kai's temple where no one can find it."

"Oh really now?" the evil being chortled, his long fingers grasping onto the chain suspending the young saiyan, "You and what army?"

The teenager's smirk grew even wider, "This one."

Scurge frowned, as nothing happened, the only sound that of the smouldering embers. Seconds passed, causing Gohan to roll his eyes in despair before shouting to the heavens, "Oh come on!"

The beast roared with laughter, "As I suspected, no one is coming to help you brat, not even your precious Gods."

"Fine," the teen saiyan huffed, "Plan C it is!"

Without another word, did Gohan's golden aura spring to life. His muscles bulged, causing the chains of katchin to shatter, sending the heavy fragments crashing to the ground in a heap. His hair flashed a brilliant gold, spiking upwards in an unruly fashion as his onyx eyes glowed a vibrant emerald green. The whole planet was shaking, shockwaves dispersing over the cave and causing debris to fall from above. An enormous swell of power radiated from the halfling, as his body was engulfed in the epicentre of the brilliant golden light that erupted from his entire being. His aura was electrifying, lightening bolts snapping and crackling at the air as is power grew. His spikey golden hair quivered, flashing rapidly with even more concentrated golden energy.

The halfling couldn't stop himself from screaming, the bellow erupting from his chest as he pushed further and further into the depths of his energy. The hurricane-like winds swept through the cavern as his spikey mane began to grow, reaching his ankles and leaving a stubborn bang waving over his forehead. His eyebrows seemed to have disappeared altogether, his stare hardened and penetrating Scurge who had to cover himself with his ams for protection.

As the light died down, the beast gaped, "W-What is this power?!"

"Oh this?" Gohan grinned wickedly, gesturing to himself, "It's a little trick I've learned recently that I like to call Super Saiyan Three. It's also part of plan C, which is where I kick your arse to kingdom come."

"S-Super Saiyan?" the beastly brute stammered, before coming to his senses. He stood, towering over the golden-haired boy, pure rage coursing through him, "Your power may have increased substantially, but it still won't be enough! GET RID OF THIS BRAT!"

A bone quaking roar reached his ears, as by Scurge's command did hundreds upon hundreds of demon souls spring from the shadows, bursting out of the smouldering ground and making a beeline for the young saiyan. Though Gohan was ready, slipping into a flawless stance as the coal-encrusted souls hurtled towards him.

 **BOOM!**

His fist connected with the first one's jaw, breaking it apart instantly in a shower of ash and cinders. The body of the demon was propelled backwards, crashing into over a dozen more souls that disintegrated as soon as they were hit.

Though to Gohan's distain, it didn't stop them from coming. **BOOM! THWACK! CRASH!** One by one they disappeared in a cloud of ash, but it wasn't enough. He was surrounded by Scurge's minions, whose incessant screeching was starting to grate on his nerves. Throwing another smouldering body into a unsuspecting group of souls, the teenager kicked off from the ground and with an abrupt shout unleashed an explosive wave so powerful that the rest of the underlings vanished in an instant with nothing but embers remaining.

Gohan smirked up at the enraged Scurge, who wasted no time in unleashing rapid fire upon the halfling. Smoking boulders flung towards him with malicious intent, though the young super saiyan three batted them away effortlessly, the remains falling to the ground in the same manner as Scurge's minions.

Scurge howled with fury, a torrent of flames erupting from his jaws, causing the halfling to jump swiftly out of range. Powering up even further, Gohan careened towards the giant at break neck speed, using the momentum to deliver a powerful kick straight to his skull. A sonic boom ricocheted over the dark cavern from the force of the teenager's attack. Scurge's crown flew clean off his head, and with a final scream of anguish did the brute disintegrate, the metallic crown toppling to the ground with a loud **CLANG**.

Gohan breathed a sigh of relief as he levitated himself back down, picking up the crown that was as big as his torso and inspecting it curiously. His ears suddenly perked up, as an almighty crash sounded and six figures broke through the ceiling, sending a great amount dust and debris flying through the cave.

He coughed, as he glared at his comrades, who were bathed in the light emitting from the hole they had just created from the planets surface, "What the bloody hell took you so long?!"

"We ran into _a lot_ of Scurge's minions up top," said Alala, dusting off an arrow that was covered in ash, "And anyway, it was your idea to have someone get captured so that we could infiltrate Scurge's lair, so don't get mad at us."

The teenager rolled his eyes, "It wasn't my idea to be the damsel in distress! Why do I have to be the bait all the time?"

"Well, no one expects the shortest to be so strong!" Makhai winked, throwing an arm over his shoulder as Gohan shot him a glare, even though he had had a growth spurt recently, he was still only a bit shorter than Alala, "Where is Scurge anyway?"

The young saiyan held up the crown in his palms, "Dead. No thanks to you lot."

Kratos snorted, eyeing the smoking cavern, "At least you didn't make too much of a mess this time, good work I suppose, even if it took longer than expected."

"Aw Kratos, don't look so glum," Makhai spouted cheekily before Gohan could retort, "So what if Sparky killed the main baddie this time round? There's always next time. The important thing to remember is that you tried your best!"

"That's enough of your lip Makhai," the older teen growled as the others chuckled, "The only thing that matters is that Scurge and his army of lost souls are dead, we completed our mission."

"That's the spirit," Bia smiled, her yellow eyes surveying him, "You've come a long way Kratos, even if you are still jealous of Gohan."

"I am not!"

"He is too," whispered Makhai, nudging Gohan in the ribs, "By the way mate, do me a favour and power down would you? The whole no eyebrows thing gives me the wobbles."

The halfling growled, feeling rather exposed, "It's not like I can help it!"

"I'm just saying that it's not a good look on you," the boy shrugged.

"I'm not trying to win a beauty competition Makhai," he retorted haughtily, as the others snorted with laughter around him.

"It's a good job too," he jested, "You wouldn't be winning any medals any time soon, even _with_ the hair extensions."

"Oi!"

"Well I think Gohan's transformations look cool," said Alala, sticking up for him, "I think the long hair really suits him."

Kratos scoffed, folding his arms across his chest.

"Ugh enough of this rubbish, we can talk about Gohan's hair problems later," said Deimos scathingly, "Can we get off this hell hole of a planet before you all start snogging each other?"

Eris sighed almost longingly, watching the fires burn around her, "I don't know, I think this place is rather beautiful. It reminds me of my home planet on the day that I took it over."

"So, before Miss galactic overlord decides to relive her glory days and do us all in," Makhai spouted as the others stared blankly at her, "Shall we get the HFIL out of here?"

"Allow me," Kratos said with a triumphant smirk, placing his hand on Bia's shoulder, "I've been perfecting my teleportation technique. Grab on to me and I'll have us out of here in no time."

As they moved towards him, a tremendous, earth quaking growl reached their ears.

"Better make it quick," Makhai laughed, "Judging by that sound, I don't think Gohan's stomach can last much longer."

"Er Makhai," Gohan said wearily, "That wasn't me."

"Eh? Then what the bloody hell was -?"

 **BOOM!**

The recruits ducked, covering their heads with their arms as a gigantic snake-like creature burst through the cave floor below them. It roared again, the force of it's lungs causing their heads to spin. It growled menacingly, towering high above the seven competitors with a fiery glow in it's eyes. It's red scaled skin seemed to shine in the dark cave, the embers reflecting off the bottom of it's long belly.

"OUT OF EVERYTHING, YOU LEFT _THAT_ ONE ALIVE?!" Kratos roared at Gohan.

"I didn't know it was here!" He protested hotly.

"What were you too busy brushing your long flowing locks to notice?!" Deimos snapped.

"Shut up!"

"Let's go!" Bia bellowed, kicking off from the ground and leading the way out of the cave through the gap in the ceiling.

They sped over the desolate planet, through the steamy clouds, dodging volcanic eruptions that spewed from every corner of Sagor. Gohan's super saiyan three speed was unrivalled, though the gigantic serpent was still hot on their tail. He could hear the shouts of his comrades over the roar of flames that engulfed the planet, the creature's jaws snapping at their heels.

Then, just like that, a shining white beacon of light appeared up ahead.

"The Warp!" Kratos cried, "Hurry!"

They made it just in time, clinging onto each other desperately as they shot up into the atmosphere through the shaft of light with supersonic speeds. The recruits touched down with a thud back on Lord Beerus' planet, the amber skies and dark grass greeting them, along with Whis, who stood before them with a curious stare. The light from The Warp began to fade, but not before the severed head of the great serpent shot out of the beacon, landing before them with a sickening squelch, spewing forth a tidal wave of sticky purple blood that drenched all seven recruits, though miraculously missed Whis by less than an inch.

At once, six of the seven teens looked towards the guilty half-saiyan, who quickly evaporated the golden Ki blade from his palm, powering out of his transformation immediately.

"Heh heh," Gohan mustered meekly, "Sorry, my bad."

"I take back what I said about you not creating a mess," Kratos scowled, flinging the alien snake blood from his hands.

"Now now recruits," Whis chuckled, as the head slowly came to a stop in front of him, "There's no use crying over spilt milk, or a severed Echidna head for that matter."

With a tap of his staff, the recruits were as pristine as when they had first left for their mission, the Echindna's head nowhere in sight.

"Ah," the Angel smiled, eyeing the crown in Gohan's hand, "I see you have successfully retrieved the crown of Scurge. Excellent work everyone."

"It was nothing!" Makhai grinned, brushing his now dry hair out of his eyes, "No seriously, we did nothing, it was all thanks to Gohan here!"

"Speak for yourself," Kratos growled, as Deimos and Eris scoffed, "Were it not for us then he would have been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of lost souls that Scurge had in his entourage!"

"It's true," the young saiyan offered, "We all worked together Master Whis."

"Humble as you are Gohan, it would be nice to see you have faith in your victories once in a while," Whis said wisely, causing the young teen to blush, "As it stands, the defeat of Scurge has come at a perfect timing."

"How so Master?" asked Eris with a frown.

"Ah you see, I was planning a little trip to The Sacred Realm of The Kai's anyway," he said, a glint in his violet eyes, "We can deposit the crown of Scurge in the temple's vault whilst we are there."

"We?" Deimos quirked, the recruits had never been permitted to go to the Kai's sacred realm before, "You're taking us?"

"But of course," said Whis, smiling widely, "How else do you expect me to choose a suitable successor if you all aren't present for the final task? It would be rather unfair don't you think?"

Their eyes widened in utter disbelief.

"F-final task?" Alala whispered, "Master Whis, surely you don't mean-?!"

"I know it may seem a little premature," the blue-skinned deity spoke, "But with the heights of power you have all obtained from your time here, I think it would be foolish to delay choosing our new junior destroyer for much longer. At the end of today, I'm hoping that one of you will be selected so that we can begin your destroyer training quite swiftly. I'm sorry to spring this on you so suddenly, but if this test doesn't work then I will have to find another method to make my decision final."

"Test?" Gohan frowned, he couldn't help but notice that Whis' gaze lingered on him when he was speaking about the amount of power they had achieved, "What kind of test?"

"It's not an easy one I'm afraid," said Whis, ignoring Makhai's comment of "Figures", "Granted, many warriors and even some Gods have attempted it, but none have been successful thus far."

"Then what makes you think that we can do it Master?" asked Bia.

The Angel chuckled, "Oh dear girl, I'm not expecting any of you to retrieve the Z-Sword. Though creaking it in place from where it is wedged in stone would be substantial enough."

Gohan blinked, _the_ Z-Sword? The same Z-Sword that the wicked Perses had tried to get his hands on over a thousand years ago? The same one that he had killed millions for? Including his own mother? He gulped and looked around him, it seemed that he was the only one who even knew what it was, and just how epic it would be to weild as the others merely bore looks of confusion.

"The Z-Sword?" Kratos repeated, causing Whis to smile.

"The Z-Sword is a very powerful relic, forged in the heart of a dying star and buried in rock deep within the Kai's realm for millions of years," the deity explained, "It is said that only someone pure of heart can wield it, though from experience we know that the sword is much pickier than that, for many pure warriors have tried to retrieve the it from stone with no avail. It is said that it's power has no equal, and can be used as a tool to destroy or to build. Once it has chosen it's master, the two become one weapon, capable of cutting down the mightiest of foes. A fitting companion for a destroyer God, don't you agree?"

Makhai whistled, "Sounds sharp."

"Indeed," said Whis, the light from The Warp encompassing them once more, "Shall we?"

* * *

Gohan didn't know what to think, or feel. This was it, the moment he had been training for all this time. The time when he would find out if all of his sleepless nights, suicide missions and gruelling training sessions had been worth it. He was so much stronger than when he had first appeared on Lord Beerus' planet, he had grown into a warrior he thought his father would be proud of. Learned things about the universe that his mother would no doubt praise him for if she knew. He had achieved a new level of super saiyan that he hoped Vegeta would marvel at, and he had learned battle smarts that he hoped Piccolo would be bowled over by. He had gained a confidence that he never had as a child, a confidence that had ignited a bravery within that he wished the rest of the Z-Fighters could see. For all he had ever wanted was to protect his friends, and he bet Krillin, Yamcha and Tien would be in awe at his growth. But despite all the things he had achieved; the power, the book smarts, the heart, would it all be worth it if he didn't complete the task Whis had set for them?

Would he feel disappointed if he failed? He shook his head, of course he would! He had trained _so_ hard. But still, would he be allowed back home if he failed? He sighed, it wouldn't do well to get his hopes up either way. He didn't want to disappoint Whis, but similarly he didn't want to disappoint his family and friends. How would they react if he suddenly was able to contact them from The Otherworld? How would he even begin to explain where he had been?

He gulped, just how many years had passed anyway?

His eyes were suddenly blinded, as the light from The Warp intensified, and when it disappeared altogether did he blink, his vision coming to focus on a vast purple sky. It reminded him of Beerus' world in a way, as he made out many other planets dotted around the upper atmosphere. There was no breeze at all and fields of emerald grass seemed to stretch for miles. A colourful array of flowers grew by a sparkling clear spring, and what looked like an ancient temple stood proudly overlooking the planet amongst a midst of rolling hills.

"Welcome to The Sacred Realm of The Kai's," said Whis, as the recruits looked around them in awe.

And Gohan could see why it was just that, it was simply breathtaking.

"Ah, and here comes The Supreme Kai and his attendant."

The young saiyan followed his mentor's gaze across the meadow, where two figures were making their way towards them, both looking a little apprehensive. They were dressed in similar ceremonial garbs, that were wrapped in a kimono-like fashion around their middle. One, was tall with long white hair and blood red skin. He walked a ways behind the other man, who was much shorter. He had large pointed ears with earrings dangling from each lobe, whereas the shorter one had light purple skin and his white hair was styled into a mohawk atop his head.

He got a strange feeling from them, just like the time he had first met Lord Beerus, though the pressure wasn't as intense. He still felt a little intimidated though, they were Gods after all. The very beings that had created him.

"Good afternoon Supreme Kai," Whis said kindly as they came to a halt in front of them, "I trust you are well?"

"Greetings Whis," the purple-skinned deity spoke pleasantly, "It is a blessed day to have you and your hopefuls here."

"Quite," he smiled, before addressing the teenagers, "Students, may I introduce The Supreme Kai."

Gohan quickly copied the others as they bowed their heads in respect.

"And this is his assistant Kibito," said Whis, gesturing to the taller red-skinned deity, who bowed back.

"Marvellous," the Angel grinned, clapping his hands together in excitement, "Oh before I forget, Gohan, will you please pass the crown of Scurge to Kibito for safe keeping?"

The halfling did as he was told, and handed the crown over to the Kai's assistant, who looked rather flabbergasted.

"Ah," The Supreme Kai observed, his dark eyes twinkling, "So you managed to defeat Scurge?"

"Barely broke a sweat Supreme Kai Sir!" Makhai exclaimed, "He was a right push over!"

The Kai chuckled, turning to Whis, "I can see why you have high hopes for these recruits."

"Indeed," he nodded knowingly, "Though I have already informed them of their chances in regards to retrieving the Z-Sword."

"Wisely done I'm assured," said Supreme Kai, "I wouldn't want them to be disheartened should they fail."

He paused for a moment, looking around him. And Gohan could have sworn a beat of sweat just trickled from his brow as he asked, "Is Lord Beerus not accompanying you?"

"Oh heavens no," said Whis, "He would be frightfully upset if I woke him up for nothing."

"Right, of course," he replied, as Kibito let out a breath he had been holding for quite sometime, "Let's get started then shall we?"

Gohan frowned, did Lord Beerus really scare them that much? He thought Makhai had been exaggerating.

He kicked off from the ground along with the rest of the group, following The Supreme Kai and Kibito through the skies. The view of the Kai's world was even more spectacular from above, with neat forests, bold mountains and vast lakes that glistened in the light of the distant suns, holding reflections of times lost long ago. Finally, they started to slow in their flight, and the young saiyan noticed a tall winding cliff face that protruded out from one of the lakes. Something glinted in the sunlight up ahead, the glimmering golden hilt of the Z-Sword sticking out of the ancient rock. Gohan gulped as they landed, standing in a semicircle surrounding the legendary relic.

It was the moment of truth.

He didn't know what he was expecting really. It just looked like an ordinary sword to him. He had envisioned it to be bigger in all honesty, encrusted with extravagant jewels or guarded by some kind of impenetrable force, especially with the history it had behind it of people trying to steal it. But here it was for the taking, sitting out in broad daylight for all to see. Though the rock it was embedded in didn't seem to be scuffed or broken one bit, as though the sword had been recently placed there, not having warriors and Gods alike trying to force it out of it's prison for thousands of years.

"So, who wants to go first?" Whis asked happily, his eyes surveying them.

"I'll go," Kratos said unsurprisingly, starting forwards boldly before anyone else could muster a word.

"Very well Kratos," The Supreme Kai spoke kindly, "And good luck to you, young warrior."

He bowed to the God of Creation, before clearing his throat, placing both of his hands on the hilt of the sword. His eyes closed in concentration, he breathed deeply - and pulled.

Gohan sucked in a breath, watching intently as the older teen's biceps began to strain, a vein protruding from his temple as he pulled with all his might. Kratos growled, his heels digging into the rock and forming cracks around his feet, yet the mighty Z-Sword did not so much as creak in place.

"Damn it!" the warrior spat, his arms trembling, but he didn't let go just yet. His crimson aura burst to life around his frame as he brought his Ki to the surface, the veins in his arms and neck even more prominent than before.

The halfling was certain that he had it this time, as his energy output grew to ridiculous heights, so much so that the roaring winds he was creating almost knocked Kibito off of the cliff. Gohan's mid-length ebony hair blew back from his face, though he couldn't take his eyes off Kratos and the fierce determination he was emitting. His teeth were gritted together so much so that the teen was worried that they might snap in to, the sweat was pouring from his brow unforgivingly so. And it was then did he realise, that for the first time, Kratos was actually struggling.

"Argh!" he cried out, as his aura suddenly dispersed, his energy spent as he let go of the hilt, his sweat laden hands slipping and causing him to fall onto his backside with an audible thud.

Kratos looked just as shocked as the rest of the recruits felt. This was Kratos the Great after all, no doubt still the strongest out of them. Even with Gohan's next level super saiyan did their matches never end with a clear winner, for they would both tire before it's end.

A loud crack broke the young saiyan out of his thoughts, as Kratos slammed his fist to the ground, causing a sizeable fracture in the cliff. He breathed angrily, his chest heaving as his hardened gaze settled once again on the Z-Sword.

"Not all is lost Kratos," said Whis, placing a calming hand on his shoulder, "Just because you haven't been able to move it doesn't mean that you have failed. The other recruits have not yet had their turn. If none of you are able to creak the sword in place then I have other methods for choosing Lord Beerus' successor."

"Y-yes Master," Kratos breathed steadily, attempting to calm himself down, "My apologies."

"No matter my boy," the Angel said warmly as he stood, "Now why don't you let the others have their turn?"

"Of course," the teen replied, shuffling away quietly and sitting himself down from everyone else.

Makhai snorted beside Gohan, acting out the gesture of playing the world's smallest violin and pretending to sob.

"Makhai, you're next," Whis said firmly, causing the ginger-haired teen to jump.

"Alright!" He beamed, bounding towards the centre of the rock and giving Kibito a wink, "You ready for a spectacle big guy?"

Kibito's eye twitched in annoyance, as the fanged boy grinned, placing his hands on the hilt and giving one almighty tug.

 **SLAM!**

Gohan face-palmed, as Makhai pulled a bit too enthusiastically, his grip slipping almost immediately, causing him to topple over backwards and hit the ground face first.

"Oh my," gasped The Supreme Kai as the recruits snorted with laughter, "are you alright Makhai?"

"Owww," the boy groaned, a big red mark on his forehead from the impact, "That baby's really wedged in there huh?"

"But of course," stated Kibito, "It is not easy for Gods, much less mere mortals."

Makhai scowled, "Can I have another go?"

"Certainly not!" the red-skinned deity spluttered, "You've had your chance!"

"But that was just a practice run!"

"I'm sorry Makhai but Kibito is right," said Whis, "It's just one turn each I'm afraid."

"Fine, whatever," Makhai said haughtily, picking himself up from the ground and moving to sit with Gohan, "Suit yourselves. You can't handle my comedic value anyway."

The Supreme Kai sighed, "Next?"

Gohan watched carefully, as one by one his peers failed to pull the sword from the stone. They had all powered up to their maximum, yet all landed on their backsides in a similar state to Kratos and Makhai.

Finally, after what seemed like an age, The Supreme Kai turned his gaze to him, "And Son Gohan? You're last I believe."

The teenager swallowed thickly, he had wondered just how the Kai knew all of their names, though he reasoned that as a God of Creation he would know all about them. He could feel Whis' expectant eyes burning into him as he stood, but in all honesty he was sceptical. Not a single one of the recruits had managed to even creak the sword in place, yet Whis had insisted that they continue. Maybe it was another one of his master's tests? It just had to be, he didn't think that anyone could move that sword. No one had managed to do so in thousands of years. Whoever had put it there must have been ridiculously strong or put a curse on it or something surely.

So why now? How were they, seemingly novice mortal warriors, supposed to pull it out after all of this time? It didn't make any sense why Whis would even set it as a final task. And yet…

And yet as Gohan stood, making his way to the Z-Sword just as the rest had done before him, did the young saiyan feel a weird pull towards it.

He frowned, goosebumps appearing on his arms as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Something strange coiled at the pit of his stomach, a bundle of nerves, adrenaline and a burst of excitement that he couldn't shake. What did this mean? His mind suddenly drifted to the story of Perses, the one whose power rivalled Beerus. Not even _he_ could release the Z-Sword according to the Oracle Fish. But Whis had said that only someone truly pure of heart could be chosen in the first place. Did the sword have a mind of it's own or something?

No sooner did the thought cross his mind, did a whisper of a voice reach his ears, _"Believe."_

Gohan jumped, "D-did you hear that?"

"Hear what Gohan?" Whis asked, a knowing glint in his eye, "Is there something you wish to share?"

"No, sorry," he replied, shaking his head, "I'm just a bit nervous I suppose."

"It's only natural Gohan," The Supreme Kai said kindly, "But do not worry, I'm sure you'll do your best."

"Thanks," the teenager replied bluntly, wow the Gods really had no faith in them did they?

Sighing to himself, and trying to shake the strange feeling of foreboding away, he placed his palms around the hilt of the Z-Sword. No sooner had he touched it, did a bolt of electricity jolt between his fingertips. His eyes widened, and he was forced to take a deep shuddering breath as he felt as though all the air had been knocked out of his lungs at once. He felt dizzy, and his head was swimming as though he had been dunked in water. What was happening to him? Had Surge hit him without him noticing or something? Was it some kind of late onset concussion he was experiencing?

"Oi Gohan!" Makhai's bored voice called, breaking through the surface, "Hurry it up will you? My arse is going numb sat here."

The teen saiyan mentally slapped himself, he could feel the Gods watching him intently. He gritted his teeth, no matter what weird concussion he was experiencing, he just needed to get this humiliation over with.

 _"Just turn into one of those super saiyans, and believe."_

His mouth opened in shock, the voice was back! But where on earth was it coming from? He was going mental, he was sure of it. But for the life of him, he couldn't tear is hands away from the hilt of the sword, as if his fingers were stuck to it with some kind of insanely strong superglue. The voice didn't return, though something was telling him to just give in and follow what it said. To HFIL with it, Gohan thought, if it wanted a super saiyan, he was sure as hell going to give it one.

It was with a painful realisation did he realise that he was having an argument with an imaginary voice in his head.

With a low growl, the young saiyan transformed, his golden aura rippling with electricity as he burst immediately into the second level of super saiyan. Dark storm clouds encircled above him, as lightening bolts connected with his growing aura, his golden hair expanding towards his ankles and his eyebrows disappearing completely. The entire world shook with an agonising force, causing the cliff to tremble beneath his feet. The Supreme Kai, Kibito, Whis and the others had frantically took to the air, as Gohan's great influx of power threatened to engulf them all.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DOES HE THINK HE'S DOING?!" Makhai shrieked over the windstorm.

"Tch, show off," Deimos snorted, folding his arms across his chest.

"Extraordinary," Supreme Kai blinked, as Kibito practically trembled beside him, "For someone so young, how can he have all that power?"

"Master?" Alala asked, looking towards the Angel who had not uttered a word since Gohan had stood, he was smiling.

Grasping the hilt of the Z-Sword tight, Gohan gritted his teeth, and with his aura blazing, lighting up the now dark sky, he pulled. His eyes widened to the size of saucers, as where he was expecting to feel some kind of resistance - was there none.

The ancient relic slid easily out of the rock that it had been trapped within for thousands of years. It withdrew with such ease, that the teenager wrenched it free in one fluid motion. The cliff face splintered and crumpled, the debris falling through the air and plummeting into the lake with an enormous splash. The disturbed water exploded into the sky before falling once more, now intermingled with dust left over from the cliff's demise.

And there, dangling in the air with the Z-Sword held tightly within his palm, was a very shocked half-saiyan. He still in the third form of super saiyan, too flabbergasted by what he had just achieved to even move. Then slowly, he turned towards the group hovering across from him in the sky, their jaws hitting the floor simultaneously.

The Z-Sword was free.

"Well well," Whis chuckled, a bright smile upon his lips, "I do believe we've found our new junior destroyer."

* * *

 _11th June, 2018._

* * *

 _Also for those interested, here's a bit of background on Perses:_

 _ **Name meaning:** Perses (titan of destruction) His name is derived from the Ancient Greek word "to sack", "to ravage", "to destroy". the fact of which may have given the impression that Perses was the Titan god of destruction_

 _Age: 21_

 _Years Active: 321 years before Age - 300 years before Age (before the New Age)_

 _Years Dead: 1, 220 years (in Age 770)_

 _Residence: (currently) The Void_

 _Home Planet: Unknown_

 _Occupation: Warrior/ Ex-Junior Destroyer_

 _And on a side note, B.A stands for Before Age_

* * *

 **Reviews:**

Lightningblade49: Thanks so much for your review! I was going to have Gohan's super saiyan 3 transformation be some big extravaganza, but I decided that because he will have bigger transformations (yaaaaas) later on in the story that I want to leave it to the readers imagination on this one. I also wanted him to mimic Goku in the fact that he may have achieved it through training, and also I wanted the time skip to happen so I wasn't lingering around the beginning, and as you can so Gohan is more more confident in this chapter because of it :)

Thanasi: Fair enough, but I just think it makes good story telling this way. To me it wouldn't make sense if Gohan just turned up as the God of Destruction and was immensely powerful for no reason and suddenly there was an enemy that just rocked up with no backstory! I write how I would like to read :)

Aaron Leach : thanks mate!

X3runner : haha thanks for your review, your last one makes sense now. Gohan wasn't super saiyan 3 in the last chapter, but as you can see from this one, he was getting there!

NinjaFang1331: Hellz yeah!

Toorafc: Thank you!

victor0606: Thanks :)

noise95: aw yay Im glad you like Alala as much as I do! As for what will happen to the recruits next, you'll find out in the next chapter ;) I'm a bit up in arms with Gohan's tail at the moment. Its not essential to the story right now, so at the moment probably not. But we'll see that might change!


	7. Hakai

_**A/N:** Hi everyone, happy sunny July! I'm so sorry I haven't updates in nearly a month, it's taken me ages to write this chapter as I have been working so much and am getting married next month! It's all going on so I apologise if my updates aren't as quick! However, I have had ALOT of great ideas for how this story will progress and I cannot wait to write it. There may not be must posted between now and my wedding so I really hope you enjoy this fourteen page long chapter and I really hope it was worth the wait! I cannot believe how much love I'm getting for this story, it honestly means the world as I have always used writing as a little escape :) So glad you are enjoying reading as much as I am writing! Thank you again for your continuing patience, you are all awesome xD ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

 **Hakai**

 **xxxx**

It was as though he was in a dream, sleepwalking through every motion in the few hours since he had pulled the Z-Sword out of the stone. Whis couldn't stop smiling, though Kratos had simply refused to even look at him for a good hour or so. Makhai, Alala and Bia had been utterly beside themselves, as were The Supreme Kai and Kibito, who couldn't believe that a mere mortal had managed to free the legendary relic, and with such ease too. Eris and Deimos seemed a little disappointed, but had extended their congratulations to him all the same.

It was like a daze, for now Gohan was stood in the middle of the common room, Z-Sword in hand, watching as the other recruits put their belongings together, ready to leave Lord Beerus' world forever. The first thing that he had noticed about the sword was that it was ridiculously heavy, so heavy in fact, that the young saiyan had barely managed to keep a firm hold of it. When he had dropped out of his transformation due to the shock of actually freeing the relic, he had nearly plunged into the lake below. Once he was able to get a solid grip on it, he had managed to drag it back to the camp, and now it's sharp pointed edge was resting upon the solid stone floor, a small crack beneath it as Gohan leaned on the hilt.

"Well, this is it," Makhai said brightly, clapping his hands together and breaking the halfling out of his thoughts, "I'll miss you mate, good luck with all the destroying."

Gohan couldn't help but chuckle at that, allowing the older boy to grasp a hold of his hand before pulling him into a tight one armed hug, "Thanks Makhai, I'll miss you too. All of you."

"Oh come on, don't get all soppy," snorted Deimos, rolling his eyes at the display of affection, "You're better than that."

The young teen smiled, as Bia moved forwards to embrace him, tears in her yellow eyes.

"Oh Gohan," she wept, grabbing his head and clutching him tightly to her bosom, "It has been such an honour to fight alongside you! It's much sooner than expected, too soon even, but our paths must d-diverge!"

"Give him some air Bia," Alala chuckled, nudging her out of the way and saving the halfling from her deathly strong grip. "Besides, it's not all doom and gloom. Did you not hear what The Supreme Kai said? He was so impressed with us that he's enlisted us all to become sentinels of the universe, he's naming it the Supreme Guard."

"The Supreme Guard?" the young saiyan quirked.

"Bit righteous sounding if you ask me," said Eris, "But essentially that's what we will be, guardians of the universe."

"Yeah, we'll train on the Grand Kai's planet directly under the big boss himself," Makhai chimed, "If anything goes down that's a bit untoward then we'll be called upon to kick some galactic arse!"

"Sounds like it will be an adventure," Gohan grinned, causing Alala to beam.

"Well come on then," Eris huffed after a beat of silence, picking her duffle bag off of the floor, "Let's go and start this damned adventure before Makhai starts crying again."

"I'm not crying!" the fanged boy choked, hiding his face, "I've just got something in my eye!"

Eris and Deimos rolled their eyes before giving Gohan a wave, shoving Makhai out of the door as they went.

To Gohan's surprise, a strong hand clapped him on the shoulder. It was odd, Kratos hadn't spoke to him since they were back on the Kai's sacred world.

"Don't mess it up," said Kratos with a hardened stare before the halfling could speak, his own belongings tossed over his shoulder, "I hope you know just how important this opportunity is, and that one of us will eagerly take your place should you fail."

"I'll do my best not to let you down then," he replied, giving him a cheeky smile.

The older teen grunted in response, grasping Bia's hand and dragging her out with him.

"Bye Gohan!" She waved, "Train hard!"

"I will!" he waved back, before realising that only Alala remained.

"Still here?" he asked, causing her to smile brightly.

"I just wanted to give you something," said the violet-skinned girl, causing his brow to furrow in confusion.

"Oh really? Wha-?" Gohan was cut short, as Alala leaned forwards, and pressed her lips to his cheek.

It had lasted all of a second when she pulled back, giving him a winning smile, "Good luck."

All he could do was stare numbly after her as her footsteps retreated down the corridor and out of the camp. The halfling was blushing to the roots of his hair, his lips parted in shock as he brushed his fingers over the tingling space where Alala's lips had touched his skin.

"Ahem."

There was a sudden overwhelming pressure that appeared behind him, causing him to whirl around, his eyes wide as they settled on the newcomers.

Just how long had they been standing there?!

Whis was giving him a wicked smile, a knowing glint in his eye. Beside him, was the one and only Lord Beerus, awake for the first time since he had met him, whose icy stare positively penetrated his entire being. He did not look pleased.

"I'll have you know that this is a sacred place," the God of Destruction leered at him, "And no _canoodling_ of any sort is allowed on my planet, boy."

"I-I didn't! I wasn't!" Gohan spluttered, utterly mortified and praying that Lord Beerus didn't destroy him where he stood.

"Now now Lord Beerus," Whis mustered, "Let's not tease our new junior destroyer. He's already had a testing day."

"Humph," the cat-like deity huffed, "Then he shouldn't make it so easy."

The teenager couldn't help but scowl as Whis spoke, the gem on his sceptre flashing green, "Oh my, it seems that we are already late for our appointment on Planet Buta my Lord."

"Oh yes," Beerus purred thoughtfully, scratching his chin, "How could I have forgotten our inspection of that festering mud hole they call a planet."

"It has been several decades since our last inspection," the Angel said pointedly, "They may have set things straight by now. I hear they have a new king."

"I'll be the judge of that," the God scoffed before turning his focus to Gohan, "Come on then boy, let's get going."

"M-me?" the young saiyan blinked, "I'm coming with you?"

Beerus snorted, "Of course. What, did you think you could have a nice relax now that you've proven your worth? Well think again, the real hard work begins now."

"But didn't you want me to train with the Z-Sword?" he asked, remembering the conversation Whis had with him right after he had withdrew sword from stone. He had told Gohan that training with the relic would in turn make him stronger, and that in order to use it to it's full potential, he must master it.

"Certainly Gohan," said Whis, "But that will come later. First theory, then practical."

"Exactly," Lord Beerus said haughtily, "it takes more than just paltry training to become a Destroyer, even with the Z-Sword."

Gohan gulped, as he narrowed his eyes at him, before turning to his mentor, "Whis, you've obviously been too soft on the boy, maybe I should just destroy you for your incompetence."

The teenager's eyes widened, surely he wasn't serious?

"Death threats my Lord?" Whis chuckled heartily, "My, it's been a while since you've stooped so low. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

Beerus growled, as the Angel continued, "Young Gohan may have come a long way from his short time here, but he is aware that he still has an even longer way to go. Ah, which reminds me."

Gohan jumped as a sudden silvery light engulfed his frame, courtesy of Whis' sceptre. He felt the clothes he was wearing fly off his back, replaced by thicker, heavier more durable ones that made him gasp as he stared at his reflection in the mirror that Whis had materialised for him.

For where his mentor's signature blue tracksuit had been, was a deeper sky blue ceremonial garb. The cloak was sleeveless and open at the torso, with a high collar and fell to just above his ankles, exposing his muscular arms and bare chest. A golden hem was threaded around the edges, and it had splits up each side which allowed for free movement of his legs that were covered in bright white gi trousers. From the belt hung a piece of long black fabric that met in a point between his legs, with three white and gold diamonds decorating it. Not too dissimilar to Lord Beerus' gi. Matching blue, white and gold boots adorned his feet, and solid gold wristbands were attached to each wrist, including one in his hair that was tied back in between his shoulder blades in a short ponytail.

As Gohan gaped at his reflection, Whis voiced his very thoughts, "That's much better. Now you're really looking like a God of Destruction."

"Hurry up Whis, it already takes nineteen minutes to get there," Lord Beerus yawned loudly, "Ugh, I hate long flights."

The teenager frowned, nineteen minutes didn't seem like that long to him.

"Well it is on the other side of the galaxy my Lord," said Whis with mild exasperation, gesturing to the sudden appearance of a lunchbox in his hand, the mirror long gone, "I've taken the liberty of making you a snack for the journey."

"Well why didn't you say so?" the deity spouted greedily, swiftly moving behind him and placing his hand on his back, "Let's get to it. Hurry up boy, and don't make me tell you again."

Gohan jumped to attention immediately, placing his hand on Whis' back as the light from The Warp encompassed them. They shot into the air, bursting through the atmosphere of Beerus' planet and out into the stars. Planets and moons whizzed past them as Lord Beerus tucked into his snacks, though Gohan was rather pleased to find that Whis had made him a lunchbox also.

It was a good job too, for the young saiyan did not realise what was about to come.

* * *

 **The King's Palace, Planet Buta, West Galaxy**

Gohan had never been to such an extravagant place. Even though the planet itself wasn't too grand to speak of. It was much smaller than Earth, situated at the edge of the Western province of the universe with several moons encircling it's orange sky. Though the young saiyan was rather glad to land, after having to listen to Beerus complain about the universal transportation system for the last nineteen minutes.

The Warp had touched down in a fairly pristine courtyard of an ancient looking palace, with high rising towers and spiralling stone structures. It reminded Gohan of a castle out of one of his fairytale books his mother used to read to him as a very small child, until he learned to read himself of course and decided he was too old for such fantasy. Come to think of it, that wasn't long after he had been kidnapped by his estranged uncle, Raditz.

Lost in his memories for a rare moment, the young saiyan almost got left behind, as he realised that Whis and Lord Beerus were already walking ahead of him, several guards greeting them at the foot of a gleaming marble flagged staircase leading up to the palace entrance.

It was safe to say that every single person they came across was utterly terrified of Beerus, guards stood rapidly to attention as he walked by, maids and servants bowed in his wake, not one of them making eye contact, as if they were afraid that he would destroy them instantly if they so much as looked at him funny. Gohan could have sworn that even the suits of armour were shaking in fright.

He trotted along behind Whis and Lord Beerus obediently, trying to pay attention to what a trembling humanoid pig was saying about the state of the planet's politics and affairs but was too busy staring at the magnificent palace.

Lord Beerus seemed to be bored by the alien's spouting, that was until they came to a pair of enormous oak doors that had the most delicious smell coming from inside. The deity's ears perked up, his nose twitched, and he allowed the alien, who Gohan learned was the King's right hand, to show them inside.

The doors opened to reveal a grand hall, with a long mahogany table at the centre of the room. China and shining golden cutlery was set out for a feast, with around fifty chairs alining each side of the table. Slimmer, grey-skinned guards lined the walls, looking straight ahead, their knuckles white as they grasped tightly onto their staff-like weapons for dear life.

The young saiyan was immediately ordered by the Destroyer to sit at his right side, which he did so without question as Lord Beerus seated himself at the head of the table in a chair that resembled a throne. Whis stood behind the throne to the deity's left, his features stoic as a bumbling King started forward.

Were it not for the glittering crown and jewels, Gohan wouldn't have thought he was the ruler of the planet. He certainly didn't carry himself like a King, and was just as terrified of Lord Beerus as everyone else, almost tripping on his long crimson cape as he hurriedly bowed to them.

"L-Lord Beerus," the pig-like King mustered, the crown nearly slipping off his head as he bowed too deeply, "W-what an honour i-it i-is to have y-you grace our p-planet."

"Save your pleasantries King Hoggart," Beerus sighed with a wave of his paw, "I'm hungry. We'll discuss the matter of whether your planet deserves to remain intact after I have inspected your people's cuisine."

"O-Of course your Lordship!" King Hoggart spluttered, "M-My apologies!"

Gohan's eyes widened, as with a snap of the King's fingers did an enormous feast appear right in front of them. Plates upon plates of dishes greeted them, and although the smell was tantalising, the young saiyan couldn't even imagine food that looked less appetising. Severed alien-looking fish heads protruded out of sticky, globular piles of Kami knows what. There were bowls of treacle-like slime that was almost as green as a Namekian. Carcasses of strange animals were dotted all around the table, their large teeth still intact and their empty eyes seemingly staring right at him. Bile rose in his throat, as the bowl of slime in front of him started to bubble and pop. He silently thanked his lucky stars that he had eaten on the way here, as he didn't think he could bare to stomach any of it.

"L-Lord Beerus, please help yourself to this royal feast!" The King bowed again, his eyes pleading, "each course has been meticulously crafted by our world's finest chefs, and I can assure you that their creations are the definition of exquisite. Far from the atrocious feast I believe you encountered on your last visit here centuries ago where you made our world smaller."

"You made their world _smaller_?!" Gohan blurted suddenly, gaping in shock. He didn't know that was even possible! And all because he didn't like the food?!

"You watch how you speak to Lord Beerus boy!" The King's right hand suddenly spoke up, shooting daggers at him, "Just who do you think you are?"

A tense silence greeted the table, and Whis let out a small giggle behind them.

"King Hoggart," Lord Beerus spoke dangerously, causing the pig humanoid to squeak, "Please advise your staff that the boy they are addressing is to be my successor, and as such should be respected in the same kind as myself. Unless they want to be destroyed of course."

"Y-your successor?" King Hoggart blinked, giving Gohan a fearful look that he wasn't all too comfortable with.

"That's right," said Whis, "May I introduce Son Gohan, our new junior destroyer."

At once, the King was on his knees, as was the attendant who had addressed him, "We're so sorry!" they cried, nearly sobbing, "Please forgive us Lord Gohan!" "We thought you were an assistant to Lord Beerus!"

"Er, it's alright, honestly," said Gohan wearily, his new title incredibly odd to hear, "You can get up, please, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Well there you have it," said Beerus, "You have the junior destroyer's forgiveness. You would be wise not to test him in future."

"Oh thank you!" King Hoggart implored, tears shining in his eyes as he looked towards the halfling, "How gracious you are!"

The teenager honestly didn't know where to look or how to feel, as the destroyer God spoke again, "Now this food you say, your belief is that it is better than what I have tried on your planet before?"

"W-why yes Lord Beerus!" Hoggart nodded enthusiastically, finally getting to his feet, "In fact, every single one of these delicacies have won prestigious awards. I have every c-confidence that y-you will enjoy them."

"Really now?" the deity said, raising an eyebrow, "We'll see about that."

They watched hesitantly, as Beerus picked up his fork and began to poke at some of the dishes surrounding him.

"Please remember your manners Lord Beerus," Whis sighed, as the God continued to sniff each one curiously, picking up a few and examining them before he tapped his fork on a martini glass full of a purple jelly-like substance with a sprinkling of strange fruit on top.

"And what is this?" he asked, the chime of fork upon glass echoing over the grand hall.

At once, all eyes turned to a row of chefs standing at the back of the room, who had all been watching the tasting session nervously.

"Er, it's er, completely organically grilled flash pan rice with a serving of olapanantin your mighty Lordship!" one of them squeaked, shouting his words more than was needed.

Beerus narrowed his eyes, "Ola- opal - olapana-? Are you serious? Tch, what an insufferable name."

The chef started to weep, though the destroyer ignored him. The rest of the room watched with baited breath as Beerus put the glass to his lips, poured the entire contents of the gelatinous substance into his mouth and swallowed.

"Hmmm," he mustered, and to Gohan's surprise he nodded in approval, "Tastier than I expected King, the use of salt is… divine."

The pig-like humanoids let out a breath that they had been holding for quite some time.

"T-Thank you my Lord," King Hoggart sighed, though he still looked nervous, "S-So you won't-?"

"That being said," Beerus continued, using a claw to pick at his teeth, causing them to gulp simultaneously, "There is a greasy feel to the tongue which is odd for what I assume is dessert? What do you make of it, junior destroyer?"

Gohan jumped, as all eyes were upon him at once. His mouth hung open, surely he didn't want him to taste that slimy goop?!

"Well come on," said the destroyer, pushing another glass of the strange dessert towards him, "I'm curious to know what you think, seen as Saiyans are known to eat just about anything that's put in front of them."

He gulped, as the aliens began muttering about his father's race. He caught the words, "He's a Saiyan?!" "Extinct?!" and "Insanely dangerous." Gohan looked towards Whis in apprehension, though the Angel all but gave him a reassuring nod. He supposed that this was what he signed up for after all. He decided to grin and bare it, no matter how disgusting the food looked, he didn't want Beerus to be mad at them after all. The poor aliens looked frightened enough as it was.

Cringing, and pleading with his stomach to keep it down, the young saiyan slowly dragged the dessert towards him. It was slightly unnerving, having every pair of eyes upon him, but he attempted to shrug the feeling off, pressing the glass to his lips and taking a deep breath before mimicking Beerus and pouring the lot into his awaiting mouth.

Instantly, his tastebuds were assaulted by the most foul thing he had ever tasted. It felt as though someone had emptied an entire vessel of table salt in his mouth along with the strongest drain cleaner known to man. The substance was sticky and gloopy, sticking to the roof of his mouth and making it difficult to swallow. He could have sworn that the purple goop was actually crawling by itself, coating his tongue and refusing to go down his throat.

"Something the matter Gohan?" Beerus asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

Gohan vigorously shook his head in response, though all this did was make him feel incredibly sick. He turned green, though finally managed to force the sticky jelly down, swallowing hard, his breathing coming up short.

"W-water!" the halfling croaked desperately, forgetting just where he was as all the moisture from his mouth disappeared, only to be replaced by the taste of salt and grease.

At once, an attendant ran over with a large jug of water and a glass. Though the teen all but grabbed the entire jug and downed it in one, uncaring that some of the liquid spilled out from the sides of his mouth and onto his new garb. He wiped his tongue desperately with his hand when he had finished, tossing the jug over his shoulder where a frantic attendant caught it before it hit the ground, and unable to find a napkin, proceeded to wipe his mouth frantically with the table cloth.

A small chuckle reached his ears, causing him to finally look up, the sick feeling he was experiencing only intensified when he realised that the aliens were staring at him in utter horror.

Beerus continued to chuckle at the sight of the disgusted half-saiyan, before addressing the King once more, "It looks like you have served something to our new junior destroyer that is not to his liking."

"P-please, I'm sure if Lord Gohan would like to try-!" The King started, but was cut off by the destroyer God raising a finger.

"Do not trouble yourself Hoggart, I think we've seen enough," said Lord Beerus, causing the King to tremble with fear, "But count yourself lucky that my successor and I have disagreed slightly in our inspection today. He thought your food was disgusting, whereas I thought it was acceptable. For that, I'll only take half."

"H-Half my Lord?" King Hoggart asked wearily, though Beerus didn't answer, instead Gohan watched in confusion as he tapped his finger upon the table, sending a ripple of purple energy throughout the entire hall.

Before the young saiyan knew what was happening, an enormous pressure filled the air and the entire planet began to shake. The next thing he was aware of, he had been teleported out of the castle, and reappeared in space along with Whis and Lord Beerus, floating before the planet that they had been on a split second beforehand.

Gohan's eyes widened in horror as the entire planet split completely down the centre, and half of it exploded without warning in a shower of blinding light and smoke, sending debris out into the galaxy.

The young teen couldn't believe his eyes, anger swelled in his chest as he rounded upon Beerus, "What the bloody hell was that for?!"

"You were displeased," the deity shrugged indifferently, his dark eyes reflecting the explosion, "Believe me if _I_ was displeased then we would be looking at nothing but space dust."

"W-what?!" Gohan cried, "You can't just go around blowing people up because you didn't like the way their food tasted!"

Beerus turned fully to him, his stare hardening, "Listen here brat, first off you do not tell me what I can and can't do. Second of all, I've done this galaxy a favour. The Butarians have threatened the balance of the universe on multiple occasions, they have waged wars upon other planets with races weaker than theirs for centuries. They are far from good citizens, did you not notice how the King's palace was so grand and the rest of his kingdom practically barren? His people live in poverty due to his overspending on weaponry and sending armies to destroy other planets. Should they step out of line again, I'll make no hesitation to destroy the rest of their world."

"B-but there has to be another way surely?!" the teenager mustered, "Aren't we just as bad as they are if we go around blowing up their planets?!"

"We are _destroyers_ ," Beerus spat, "Not prison guards or politicians. Your duty is to maintain the balance of the universe by destroying those who threaten the universal balance, you protect it _by_ destroying. Gods aren't saints, we have a job to do, and it's time you got it through that thick skull of yours before I have to beat it into you."

Gohan snapped his mouth shut, though he was still scowling. Beerus was correct in what he was saying, that he was a destroyer not an all out protector. He couldn't do one without the other. But still, something just didn't sit right with him. Luckily, before the destroyer God could shout at him anymore, did Whis interrupt them.

"I think we've had enough for one day," the Angel said almost tentatively, "Let's get you both home, I think we're all in need of some proper sustenance."

The bright light of The Warp encompassed them once more, and in a flash they disappeared, leaving the severed planet and it's broken remains behind them.

Gohan went straight to his chambers as soon as they landed back on Beerus' world, now empty and devoid of laughter and banter. He slumped on his bed, the sleeping quarters now eerily quiet. His shoulders felt heavy, as he brushed his messy spikes away from his eyes. Doubt creeping in once more.

Had he picked the right thing?

He had been so shocked, yet ecstatic when he had freed the Z-Sword. He had proven every single one of the other recruits wrong, excelled in everything he had come across in his training here. And yet… he was still troubled. It was obvious that Lord Beerus thought that he needed to toughen up, the Butarians weren't exactly model citizens after all. But Gohan didn't feel comfortable with the deity just blowing up half of their planet like that. No matter how bad they were.

He sighed, the sickly feeling in his stomach causing it to churn like no tomorrow, and he was certain that it wasn't just the after effects of that disgusting jelly he had eaten on Planet Buta.

Deciding he was better off letting out some frustration rather than wallowing in self pity, the young saiyan jumped from his bed and grabbed the Z-Sword from where it rested against the wall beside his dresser and carried it with some difficultly out into the courtyard. Whis may have had some special training lined up for him with the legendary sword, but Gohan was indeed to eager to wait for that. The only thing he had managed to do with it was lift and carry it due to its enormous weight. Though the teenager reasoned that Whis' training may be more successful if he had already mastered how to wield it without falling over.

The sky was dark now, night had fallen, the distant stars and planets illuminating Gohan's path as he walked further down the path and into the overgrowth where he could be certain that he wouldn't get caught by Whis or Lord Beerus. He didn't want to get a scolding for training without their permission.

Finding a clearing, the young saiyan set to work, taking off his ceremonial cloak and hanging it over the hilt of the sword, the sharp point embedded into the grass. He stretched and warmed up by performing a few katas and shadow boxing. Once he got his adrenaline pumping, Gohan grabbed the Z-Sword and swiped it through the air with some difficulty, the weight almost causing him to topple over backwards when he lifted it high into the air. Putting his weight behind it, the halfling gritted his teeth, slashing and swiping through the air, and was please to find that he was seeing a little improvement as the hours slipped by.

He wasn't entirely certain just how long he had spent training, but he was certainly feeling the impact of it. His muscles were aching, his entire body dripping with sweat and his hair even messier than before due to the amount of times that he had ran his fingers out of it in an attempt to keep the mane from falling into his eyes.

Hours after he began, did he feel a small presence watching him from the shadows. Though as soon as he noticed it was it gone, causing the halfling to shrug it off without a second thought, turning his full focus to his training.

Gohan woke up the next morning feeling groggy, his muscles ached unforgivingly due to the intense workout he had put himself through with the Z-Sword overnight. After the Oracle Fish had left him with his thoughts, the young saiyan had decided to continue training for a little longer, only deciding that maybe he should go to bed when the sky steadily started to brighten.

He hadn't gotten enough sleep that was for certain, though apparently Whis was none the wiser, and even if he was he didn't seem to care that he was invading his sleeping quarters not long after the young saiyan had gone to bed, setting off an abundance of sand timers in order to rouse the boy from his slumber.

"Wake up sleepy head!" Whis sang, before setting off another sand bomb that exploded in a blinding white light, sending another tremendous aftershock through the chamber and blowing Gohan's sheets completely off his bed.

The teenager groaned heavily, creaking open an eyelid only to be greeted by his master's smiling face.

"Good grief you're worse than Lord Beerus to rouse nowadays," the Angel chuckled heartily, "It must be all of those teenage hormones of yours."

"Are you done mocking me?" Gohan growled, still half asleep.

"Snappy too," Whis giggled with glee, "Would you look at that! Sure signs that you're growing up young one."

The young halfling groaned again, sitting upright in bed and attempting to blink the sleep from his eyes, "What time is it?"

"Time you were up and out of bed junior destroyer," said Whis, "We have many things to get on with today, so you'd better be quick about it and get showered and dressed.

"Is it more planets that need to be 'taken care of'?," he asked glumly, causing his mentor to smile.

"No not at all," he replied, "Though you'd better stop with that little attitude of yours mister or we'll leave you behind today, I doubt Lord Beerus will stand for it."

"Sorry," Gohan said meekly, "I'm just tired is all."

"I would think so," Whis said knowingly, "What with you training until the crack of dawn last night."

The teenager gaped, "W-What? How did you-?"

"I think parents on your world would call it having 'eyes in the back of their heads'," the Angel laughed, "And I would have to too, what with a young half-saiyan running around the planet."

Gohan sweated nervously, he didn't look like he was going to be getting away with a lot where Whis was concerned.

"Not that I mind you training of course," said Whis almost proudly, "In fact, I think it's wonderful that you took the initiative to get used to the way the Z-Sword handled before we began training with it to it's full potential."

"Thank you Master Whis," the teen saiyan implored, glad that he wasn't in trouble.

The blue-skinned deity smiled, "Now are you ready for your first full day of being a junior destroyer?"

He gulped, then nodded fiercely, "As ready as I'll ever be."

"That's the spirit!" the Angel chimed, "I'll meet you in the meadow in ten takks!"

Gohan sighed as Whis teleported away, yawning widely and giving his body a good stretch before he got ready for the day. Once showered and dressed, he headed to the dining hall where an enormous breakfast was awaiting him. With his belly full of good food and feeling a little more chipper, the young saiyan made his way to the meadow, where Whis and Lord Beerus were already waiting for him.

"Are you excited for your first training session as an official destroyer Gohan?" asked Whis pleasantly, eyeing the Z-Sword he had brought with him.

He nodded eagerly. Morals aside, the teenager was rather looking forward to more training, he was eager to see just what techniques Whis had in store for him to learn.

"Excellent," said the Angel, smiling, "I've asked Lord Beerus to help us with today's session, as you'll be learning about the energy of destruction, or Hakai as it is known amongst the Gods. You saw Lord Beerus demonstrate only a mere faction of that power yesterday on Planet Buta."

Gohan grimaced slightly, though he tried not to let it show on his features as Whis continued.

"Energy of destruction is very difficult to master and control," he informed him, "The energy itself is stemmed from hate and rage within a persons heart, fuelled by grief and fear. It is one of the very reasons that Gods of Destruction were previously mortal, as such qualities are abundant amongst mortals. Hakai is formed by everything negative in the universe in order to be able to destroy, whereas the opposite applies to the Gods of Creation, they use positive energy to create. Does that make sense Gohan?"

"It does yeah," the young saiyan replied, "But I don't really feel any of that stuff towards anyone. How can you be so sure that I can create it? Didn't you once say that my heart was pure?"

"Ah you see, you misunderstood my dear boy," said Whis, "For although you have pure intentions, you carry all of those qualities within you from all of those horrific experiences you have endured in your mortal life. Your childhood was not a happy one, different than that of any other Earthling. You were the first half-saiyan to be born after all, that in itself must have been difficult, your super saiyan transformations alone are triggered by rage and grief, and you transformed so young too. Think about it, look deep inside of yourself, how did you cope with balancing your warrior blood with that of your gentle human nature?"

He paused, as Gohan became deep in thought. He reflected on his childhood, where everything had been so peaceful and happy until he was four years old. Images of him being kidnapped by his deranged uncle flashed within his mind, the sound of his fathers screams as he was tortured to within an inch of his life echoed like a ghost in his ears. He remembered the gripping fear taking hold of him when Nappa charged. Piccolo's death, Krillin's death, Frieza's laughter, Cell's taunting, death, death and more death. He remembered the agonising grief he felt as his father said goodbye for the last time, the hatred towards himself, the all encompassing rage.

He felt as though he had disappointed them, his mother and father both. Where his father wanted him to be a great fighter like him and protect the world, his mother wanted him to become an academic so that he could have a stable life and keep out of danger. But what was a young boy supposed to do with such power and smarts? How could he do both? But none of that mattered if Cell was going to blow the whole planet up anyway, his parents dreams for him would never come true.

And they still wouldn't. Fate was funny like that. For now Gohan had chosen his own path, chosen something that was never apart of his parent's plans. The grief, fear and guilt of leaving Earth still remained, the constant doubt of whether or not he had chosen the right thing to do still lingered. He had never gone against his parents wishes before after all, brought up in a household of discipline, stemming from both his mother's royal roots and his father's martial arts. For the first time in a long time, he wondered how they were doing back on Earth without him, which only seemed to solidify Whis' theory.

Oh yes, those feelings were there alright. Buried deep within his heart but burning true all the same.

"That's it Gohan, remember those feelings," Whis said gently, reading his thoughts, "Now, try to concentrate that negativity into a fixed point, allow it to rise up from within, and slowly let it out."

Gohan breathed deeply, attempting to let down the walls that he had built up around his heart. It was difficult, though a swell of golden energy burst to life around his frame, much like his super saiyan aura, which Whis caught onto straight away.

"Better, better," he nodded, "But try not to let the trigger for your super saiyan transformation take over. This is something different. Try to push more of the fear and grief into it instead of rage."

It was agonising, having to relive every painful memory. He didn't want to feel this way, his instinct was to push the negativity back down, but he forced it forward, letting it come forth and out of his body like energy. At once, his golden aura turned into a deep purple, small purple particles lifting off his body in waves and up into the air.

"Well done," his mentor's soft voice penetrated through the darkness, "Now try to concentrate it into a fixed point. The palm of your hand is the easiest."

The young saiyan gritted his teeth, it was so hard! He concentrated more desperately than he had done in his entire life, focusing the negative energy towards his fist. Where, slowly but surely, a small fist-sized sphere appeared in the palm of his hand, swirling with black particles of dark matter. The power emitting from the sphere was extraordinary, but dark, so dark that the halfling couldn't believe that it was _he_ that had created it.

No sooner had he opened his eyes to marvel at the energy, did it disappear and Gohan's legs buckled underneath him. He panted, trying to steady himself as his energy suddenly drained from the amount of negativity that had erupted from his Ki.

"Well I have to say," said Lord Beerus, looking mildly impressed, "I didn't think a soft hearted cry baby like you could manage it. And you produced a sphere of destruction energy on your first try too."

"Y-you feel _that_ every time you have to use that energy?" Gohan asked, his head still reeling.

Beerus shrugged, "You get used to it. Those feelings won't bother you after you've fully mastered it."

"Was that a compliment I heard from you my Lord?" Whis chuckled, causing the God to scoff.

"As if!" He growled, "I was merely pointing out the fact that he wasn't _entirely_ useless!"

"Whatever you say my Lord," sighed the Angel, before turning to Gohan, "Gohan, now you have seen how to obtain the Hakai, I want you to practise bringing it out until you have mastered it. This energy, once mastered can erase anything or anyone from existence. However, other godly or powerful entities can destroy it also. It can also be used as a barrier, the aura you created around your body if strong enough, can destroy everything it touches. All energy attacks weaker than the user dissipate out of existence, thus protecting the user from any damage that they might have sustained from the attack."

The young teen's eyes widened as he clambered back to his feet, "It sounds insanely powerful."

"You have to be powerful to use it," said Beerus, "But the stronger you become, the stronger your Hakai will be also."

"Would you like to try and use it?" asked Whis, looking pointedly over at a nearby tree that was old and withered, "That tree is dying already, why don't you put it out of it's misery and destroy it?"

Gohan blinked, hesitating as the deities watched him intensely.

Lord Beerus rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Oh for Zalama's sake! We're not asking you to go ahead and destroy a planet already boy! It's a damned tree, already on it's way out! This is mere child's play."

The teenager scowled, before a reassuring smile from Whis gave him the boost of confidence he needed. After all, what sort of a destroyer God would he be if he couldn't master the energy of destruction?

With a heavy sigh, Gohan lost himself within his dark memories, concentrating on bringing them to the surface. It happened a lot quicker this time, the Hakai gathered in his palm, swirling with dark energy, growing much bigger than before. He could feel the sheer magnitude of power pulsating in his palm, sending ripples of negative energy across the meadow.

"Excellent," he heard Whis say gently, "Now direct that energy towards the tree, concentrate on it's life force, it's small but it's still there. You did to _will_ it away Gohan, wish it from existence whilst reciting the word 'Hakai'. Take your time, my boy."

The young saiyan focused hard on the dying tree, fighting against the darkness that was threatening to engulf him. With he shuddering breath, his eyes hardened, and for the first time Gohan let the word roll off his tongue, " _Hakai!"_

It felt foreign, alien even to wish something didn't exist anymore. But even still he released the blast from his palm and it illuminated the emerald grass in a harsh violet glow as it sped towards the mottled bark. He watched as is connected, and the old tree pulsated before dissipating in a spiral of purple particles, wiped from existence forever.

His knees suddenly buckled underneath him, his palms hitting the grass as the sweat rolled from his brow, his energy spent. Gohan panted, his arms shaking as he struggled to hold his own weight.

"Well now I certainly wasn't expecting that," Whis observed, blinking rapidly at the space where the tree used to be, "On your first try too, not even Lord Beerus managed that."

"Shut up!" the destroyer growled, though he couldn't hide the fact that he was rather impressed by the halfling.

The Angel smiled, as Gohan recovered, his head reeling, "Your talent never ceases to amaze me Gohan. How did it feel?"

"Weird," he replied, getting shakily to his feet, "I can't believe that I actually destroyed something."

"Well get used to it," said Beerus, "because that was only a taste of the power of Hakai. Tell me, do you feel guilty?"

"Not really," the young saiyan said honestly, "I mean, the tree was already dying I suppose."

"And that's exactly the right attitude to have," said Whis, "There must be a reasoning behind every destruction. You must always question your actions, wiping something from existence does not come lightly."

Gohan nodded in understanding as his mentor continued, "But for now we will take a break from the Hakai, it is very difficult to harness and control and I wouldn't want you to get worn out before our training session is over."

"I agree," said Lord Beerus, "That was more than enough for a suitable warm up, now I think it's time I tested you."

The young halfling's eyes widened, "T-Test me?"

"Why yes," Whis said with a smile, "It is only proper for the God you are destined to succeed to test your strength, and this is just the beginning. Lord Beerus is to become your new sparring partner, you can learn a great deal from him."

"S-spar?!" Gohan spluttered, the terror gripping at his chest like claws, "Y-you want me to _spar_ with Lord Beerus?!"

"What's the matter brat?" the deity snorted, "Surely you realise that to become my successor you have to reach a level of power that is equal to or above mine? We have a limited amount of time before my life cycle ends, so you'd better stop your snivelling and power up."

He gulped apprehensively, though he couldn't help but notice the darkness in Beerus' eyes as he spoke about his end, it seemed to solidify the reality that he really would be taking the deity's place in the order of the cosmos. He had a few centuries to reach Beerus' level of power, but still, he had to start somewhere right?

With that thought in might, the young saiyan grit his teeth before letting out a guttural roar, bringing every inch of his power flooding to the surface. His golden aura sprang to life, pulsating around his muscular frame as bolts of electricity jolted across his torso. His eyes turned a vibrant emerald green as his golden hair spiked and grew longer, reaching down to his ankles. His eyebrows disappeared altogether as his stare hardened, standing in all his super saiyan glory before the God of Destruction.

"Well, this is new," Beerus observed, "It looks like you've gained a fair amount of power from your time here, boy."

"This is what Gohan likes to call a super saiyan three my Lord," Whis informed him, "A level beyond which you have seen before in his fight against the android Cell."

"What a cheesy name," said the cat-like God, before addressing him, "and you think this poorly named form will be enough to go toe to toe against me?"

"I'm going to give it my best shot," Gohan stated boldly, as another bolt of lightening rippled across his aura.

"Very well," said Beerus, a smirk playing on his lips as he folded his arms across his chest, "Let's see what you've got, no holding back now."

With no time to waste, Gohan kicked off from the ground and careened towards his opponent, aiming a powerful punch straight for his head. Though to his surprise and utter horror, his fist was caught effortlessly by the awaiting God, halting Gohan's momentum in it's tracks. It was as though his hand was trapped in solid steel, as Beerus' mighty grip seemed to stop him from moving altogether.

"Oh come on," the deity said mockingly, "I thought you said you were going to try your best?"

The teenager growled, and in a burst of golden Ki, managed to free himself from the hold. Flipping over backwards with his long golden hair whipping wildly in the air, the young saiyan skidded to a halt before launching himself back towards Lord Beerus at a tremendous speed.

His deadly kick swiped through the space which the deity had previously occupied a split second before, and alas, he was nowhere to be found, and had seemingly disappeared in the blink of an eye. A small chuckle came from behind him, causing the halfling to whirl around, where a smirking Beerus stood unharmed.

Becoming frustrated, Gohan pushed his Ki a little higher, his golden aura sparking as he attacked his predecessor once more. To the halfling's great annoyance, and astonishment, he couldn't even hit him. Every kick, every punch, every well aimed blow was effortlessly dodged by the destroyer - and Lord Beerus wasn't even breaking a sweat. In fact, he looked bored.

"Stop dodging me and fight!" the young saiyan spat hotly, getting increasingly annoyed as Beerus ducked underneath his fist once more before letting out a yawn. The raging power of his super saiyan three transformation coursing through his veins certainly did not help his mood.

"If you showed me something worthy of a challenge boy then maybe I would have to actually lift a finger," he drawled, phasing out of the way of Gohan's elbow strike and reappearing a few feet away.

The teenager grit his teeth, relenting in the fact that he was dripping with sweat, panting relentlessly as he was quickly running out of stamina. The meadow was littered with holes and craters, one seemingly seemed to go straight through to the other side of the planet curtesy of Gohan's fist missing Beerus' head and connecting with the ground instead. Whis floated a ways above them, watching the fight with a stoic expression.

"You want something worth while then fine!" Gohan shouted suddenly, before blasting high into the air and cupping his hands to his side. If anything, this was certain to get Beerus to stop mocking him.

"Ka…meh…" he started to chant as the bright blue orb swelled in between his palms, though Lord Beerus merely looked up in curiosity.

"Ha…meh…"

The orb grew and grew, encompassing the entire planes in a vibrant blue and white hue. The young saiyan knew it was risky, to unleash a Kamehameha Wave whilst in this form, the sheer power of it would be enough to destroy the Earth ten times over by his reckoning. Still, this was Beerus the Destroyer he was up against. And he was expecting him to give it his all.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" A rip-roaring scream echoed over the planet as the blast erupted, heading straight for the deity.

The wave was enormous, eclipsing Beerus' world as Gohan poured every inch of his strength into the attack. With another bellow, the young saiyan cut off the blast for want of not destroying the planet. Though to his confusion, the beam of the Kamehameha seemed to swirl in motion as it reached Beerus, before coming to an abrupt stop.

The teenager's eyes widened, as the destroyer halted his attack with one clawed finger before it seemingly evaporated into thin air, as if Gohan had never unleashed it in the first place. Still reeling from shock, the young saiyan didn't notice that Beerus was no longer standing beneath him until he was right in front of his face.

He blinked, staring into the beetle black eyes of the God of Destruction as he spoke dangerously, "Allow me to show you the true power of a God."

Lord Beerus moved so fast that Gohan didn't even have time to contemplate just what was happening until the greatest pain he had ever felt hit him right between the eyes. It felt like his entire bones shook with the force, as Beerus had indeed flicked him in the forehead. But what looked like such a simple move was sheer agony for the young hybrid, and the move generated such force that he was sent flying through the skies at an impressive speed, before Beerus managed to halt him in his tracks by materialising behind him and delivering a fast chop to the neck which caused him to loose his transformation all together. Barely conscious, the Gohan was sent tumbling to the ground, where he landed in a pitiful heap, a crater forming rapidly around his broken body and sending mud and dirt flinging into the air.

Beerus landed at the foot of the crater, and was shortly joined by Whis, who peered at the dazed teenager with observant eyes.

"Well, I must admit that lasted longer than I thought, feeling gracious are we my Lord?"

The God snorted, "I just wanted to see what the brat was made of."

"Oh really?" Whis eyed him in amusement, "And what do you think?"

Lord Beerus sighed in distain, "He'll have to do I suppose, but he needs work."

"Owwwwww."

The deities looked towards the whimpering halfling in the crater, who was steadily coming to, though he couldn't find the will or energy to move his arms or legs, his body practically embedded into the ground. Blood dripped unforgivingly from his mouth, and his body was littered with several cuts and bruised, his ceremonial garb dirt laden and torn to shreds.

Beerus tutted haughtily at the sight, "You deal with this. I'm bored, I'm going for a nap."

"I'll wake you up at lunchtime Lord Beerus, we wouldn't want you sleeping in again what with so much to teach our new junior destroyer," Whis told his retreating form, though Beerus merely raised a hand in affirmation before settling himself down on the grass a few feet away, folding his arms underneath his head and resting his eyes.

The Angel sighed as he turned his attention back to the crater, watching as Gohan attempted to open his eyes, though the young saiyan was wincing too much in pain.

"Now this just won't do," said Whis, and with a quick wave of his staff was the teenager fully healed, even his clothes were restored to their full grandeur.

Gohan sprang up almost immediately, his onyx eyes darting around him as he looked down at his healed body. After clenching and unclenching his fists a few times, the young saiyan steadily got to his feet, where the shock of Lord Beerus' strength appeared to hit him full force.

"What the bloody _hell_ was that?!" he cried, causing his mentor to tut at his outburst.

"Please do mind your language Gohan."

"Sorry," he apologised quickly, before he spluttered, "But I mean _how_?! I knew Lord Beerus' strength was far beyond mine but I couldn't even _touch_ him!"

"Do not let it discourage you young one," said Whis with a small smile, "Lord Beerus has been training for millions of years. If anything, your sparring session this morning should give you something to work towards, to aspire to."

"But master Whis," he started, "I don't think I'll-"

"Always with the seed of doubt," the Angel interrupted, "Do you honestly think that I would have hand picked you if I didn't think that one day you could be as strong as or even surpass Lord Beerus?"

Gohan hesitated,"…No."

"Well then, that's that discussion over with I think," said Whis, nodding curtly, his ever observant eyes settling on the Z-Sword which was laying near a boulder from where it had toppled over due to the force of Gohan and Beerus' spar, "Why don't we spent the rest of the day training with the Z-Sword? I have to say I am rather excited to see how it handles."

The teenager nodded enthusiastically, eager to show his mentor what he had achieved with the sword so far when he stopped short. The glistening hilt glinted in the sunlight that encompassed Beerus' world, and for a moment Gohan could have sworn that he saw something looking back at him in the reflection of the blade as he bent down to grab it.

As always, Whis caught onto the halfling's sudden change in demeanour, "Something wrong Gohan?"

He shook himself mentally, though he couldn't help but tell Whis about something that had been bothering him ever since he had freed sword from stone. At first he had thought that he might have sounded crazy, but even still, it might be worth mentioning.

"I heard a voice."

Whis blinked, "A voice?"

"Yeah," said Gohan, "Yesterday, in the Kai's realm before I pulled out the Z-Sword, I heard a voice when I came near it. Something told me to turn into a super saiyan and believe in myself."

He watched his mentor carefully, who looked a little taken aback at first, before a great smile drew across his lips, "How extraordinary. That certainly is something."

"I thought I was going crazy," the young teen informed him, "But I heard it a couple of times. Was it something on the Kai's world? Or do you think I was just hearing things?"

"Who knows?" Whis shrugged happily, "Are you quite certain you heard it?"

"Well uh," replied sheepishly, mistaking his master's gleeful attitude for amusement. He suddenly felt stupid for even mentioning it, "I think so, though I might have still been tired from the battle with Scurge."

"Quite right, that is also a possibility," the blue-skinned deity nodded, before briskly moving on, "Now the sword, how does it feel."

"Still a little heavy," Gohan said honestly, "But I don't think it'll take long to get used to the weight."

"That's the spirit," said Whis, smiling, "I believe that you'll get stronger just by training with it alone, but you see the Z-Sword has another useful property that I think will become very useful should you ever need to use it in a fight or in battle."

The teenager quirked an eyebrow, as the Angel continued, "Do you remember what I told you about the legend of the Z-Sword Gohan?"

"Um, something about the two becoming one weapon, capable of cutting down the mightiest of foes?"

"Correct," Whis nodded, "The sword has many special qualities that you will learn about with time, though one of them I think is best learned as quickly as possible in order to help you master the might of the Z-Sword."

Gohan blinked, he certainly had a lot of homework to do, and something told him that getting beaten up by Beerus was going to be a regular occurrence.

"Because you freed the Z-Sword with such ease, I have no doubt that mastering this technique will come easily to you," said Whis, as the teenager listened intently, "It is true that the wielder becomes one with the legendary sword, and as such has the ability to summon it at will, despite how far away the wielder is from it, even across dimensions. It is drawn to you whenever you need it, all you have to do his outstretch your wielding hand and summon it with your mind. If it is already bound you, then it will come."

"Woah!" Gohan said in amazement, "That's wicked!"

"Indeed," his mentor chuckled, "Want to give it a go?"

"Yeah!" the child in him practically squealed in excitement, it sounded so cool.

"Well then, go ahead," said Whis, stepping to the side and allowing the teen to throw the relic as hard as he could.

He watched it go, speeding across the meadow and off into the distance towards the dark forest that surrounded Beerus' castle. He was rather impressed with himself, all that training he had done last night had certainly paid off, especially when he had struggled to even lift it yesterday morning.

Whis signalled he was allowed to call the sword back to him with a brisk nod, and Gohan eagerly outstretched his right hand. Nothing happened for a good few seconds, and the young saiyan started to feel a little disappointed when a loud whistling reached their ears. His onyx eyes widened, as the Z-Sword, in all his shining glory, hurtled back towards him at break neck speeds, slicing through the air and causing the teen to brace himself.

He started to panic, as the ancient relic was showing no signs of slowing down. Whis seemed to notice this to, his eyes darting from the rapidly approaching sword to the distressed halfling, "Gohan, try to slow it down with your mind or else -!"

 **BOOM!**

It was too late, as the hilt of the Z-Sword collided with his chest, clotheslining the poor teenager right off his feet. The sheer weight of the relic knocked all the air out of his lungs, and that accompanied by the momentum sent him flying off into the distance where he crashed unceremoniously through a row of mountains with a serious of sonic booms, sending clouds of ash and dust exploding into the air as he went.

Whis winced with each mountain that Gohan collided with, until he finally came to a halt deep within the valley.

"Oh dear," said the Angel, his eyes reflecting the building dust clouds, "We'll have to work on that."

Lord Beerus snorted from the ground next to him, having not even opened an eyelid despite the destruction that young Gohan had caused around them.

"No kidding."

* * *

 _9th July, 2018._

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** _I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter. And yes I used Beerus' first appearance in super for the little pig humanoid planet idea! The Buta of planet Buta is actually the japanese word for pig, and Hoggart I think is pretty self explanatory. ;)_

* * *

 ** _Reviews:_**

 _ashlovesdbz: thank you, so happy you're enjoying the story so far!_

 _ssjzohan: haha thank you, I watched Ragnorok recently and i COULD NOT resist_

 _Animefortin95: in the last chapter, 3 years have passed since the cell games, making Gohan 14 years old currently_

 _NinjaFang1331: I had to do an anti-climax for the freeing of the z-sword, it seemed silly that Gohan would struggle with it when he was destined to pull it out in this story :)_

 _bloodredmoon22: I will keep the tail in mind, still not sure whether it would fit yet! :)_

 _BloodySS2God : thanks for your review! glad you enjoyed the ragnorok scene. at first it was just a fun scene to play out but I may come back to Scurge at a later date ;) Perses is deffo similar to Zamasu in that way you are correct, but im not anticipating the evil Kai to be in this story. In the english dub, Ki users talk about sensing a 'pressure' when they are around god ki so gohan is feeling that rather than actually sensing Beerus' power._

 _X3runner: some of the things you've asked I cant reveal yet, but I hope you like Gohans new clothes!_

 _Lightningblade49: yes I really wanted to move the story forwards, explain a few things and then move on. were not at the meat of the story yet, so stay tuned!_

 _TheRangerBoy: thank you!_

 _victor0606: thanks!_

 _The Great Dark Writer: glad you enjoyed it :)_

 _gunnagooner : thank you so much!  
_

 _Victor2215 : thank you thats amazing to hear!_

 _WiffleDick678: this makes me so happy! thank you :)_

 _erin: wow thank you so much, I'm glad you stumbled across my story! I have every intention of finishing this so stay tuned!_

 _Iwik: so glad you are enjoying it :)_

 _Guest: thank you so much it means alot!_

 _Dan: i cant wait for Gohan to meet his father either, or rather for Gohan to meet them. I wasnt planning on doing a 'how are the zfighters doing' chapter, just because I would like the readers to find out at the same time as Gohan does. Im mean like that because I love keeping you all in suspense! ;)_

 _Guest : thank you so much, Gohan and Goku will reunite eventually, but I cant tell you when/where just yet ;)_

 _Iwik again: oooo these are very good questions! but im sorry im going to have to keep you in suspense!_

 _mubaarik4858: thanks!_

 _dspendragon125 : thank you!_

 _ThePurpleBear: thank you so much for your review! Haha glad you like Kratos and Makhai, I love them too! dont worry you will see more of them in later chapters. as for seeing how the z-fighters are fairing on earth, ive had a couple of questions about this but I think it would be better to find out as Gohan does. But just to be kind, you will find out soon, its not that many chapters away! :D_

 _iikd: thank you_

 _yunayuu : thanks :)_

 _I'mAAnimeMaster: thanks for your review! I totally agree with the z-sword, it seemed like a waste in DBZ and all gohans training with it! so Im gonna use it :D_

 _Thomas-The-TMC: thank you so much!_

 _DragonCrusader : thanks! yes deffo stay tuned for GohanXVidel!_

 _DarkLordInc: haha ;)_

 _I.C.2014: thanks!_

 _garibalditatiana: thank you :)_

 _Knight of elves : glad you enjoyed it!_

 _chibidragon: thanks ill do my best!_


	8. The Super Saiyan God

_A/N: HUNNYS I'M HOME! Hi all I'm back from my honeymoon, its gone so fast. I had a fabulous wedding and honeymoon and all ready to get back to the grind of work and studying and saving for a house. phew! Thank you all for being so so patient as I realise that I haven't published anything since July which is just awful. But hopefully now things are getting back to normal I will have more of a schedule. I've spent the entire day writing out this chapter in it's entirety, and I really hope you enjoy it and it was worth the wait. I cannot believe the story has hit almost 500 followers. You guys are the best thank you so much I'm so glad you are all enjoying it! So enough about me, here is the next chapter in this epic story! I had a blast writing it! :)_

 _So as you may see with your beady eyes, I have written this chapter EIGHT years after the Cell Games. But what about the Buu saga I hear you cry? Well I'm sorry to those that were waiting for it... but I've skipped it. Yep thats right, Majin Buu has been and gone without Gohan getting involved. I know this may disappoint some readers, however my reasoning behind it is that the Buu saga is over done, dry and just not entertaining to write after reading SO MANY different versions of it and writing one myself in my other story. I've decided to go fresh with this one, mix it up a little and do it a bit different. So sorry but not sorry! Some may argue why the Supreme Kai didn't involve Gohan, but as he didn't get Beerus involved in the original, why should he? I hope it makes sense to you all and I haven't broken any hearts here, but don't you worry, Gohan will have many more epic battles in this story ;) ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

 **The Super Saiyan God**

 **The Sacred Realm of The Kai's, Age 775 - Eight years after The Cell Games**

"Kibito, do you feel that?"

The red-skinned assistant deity observed his master, Shin, very carefully as he addressed him. The Supreme Kai had been standing stoic for quite a while now, his dark eyes surveying the violet skies above them. After all his years of dutiful service, Kibito was wise enough to know when something was troubling his superior, and judging by the way his jaw tensed, coupled by the bead of sweat that trickled down his brow, it was certainly something quite disturbing.

Kibito sighed heavily in affirmation, "I'm afraid so master, but is it really what I think it is?"

Confirming his fears, the Kai nodded solemnly, "I believe so my old friend. He is gaining strength."

Kibito gulped down the lump in his throat, "B-but how is that even possible? The Void is an impenetrable force of emptiness, how can someone gain strength surrounded by nothingness? Especially after all this time?"

"I don't know," Shin said wearily, though he attempted to keep his voice as steady as possible, "But if what we are sensing is sound in it's truth, then we must warn the lower Kais."

"Master, forgive me, but do you think that we should worry them about this so soon? The revelation could unnerve them, it wouldn't do well for the Gods to descend into chaos," said Kibito tentatively, his brow etched with worry.

"After Majin Buu I think it would be wise for us not to take any chances," The Kai replied darkly, "If Perses should escape then it could mean the end of this universe, along with countless others."

"And Lord Beerus?" asked Kibito, "Should we trouble him with this too?"

The Creation God shook his head, "I have no doubt that he or Whis have already sensed it. Though I cannot speak for their Junior Destroyer, at this point it is not imperative that he knows. He is extremely powerful yes, but he is not yet within the realms of Perses. There would be not much he or even we could do at this point. Though it is best to be on our guard."

His assistant nodded in agreement, before becoming dreadfully silent. Though his ever observant master was quick to notice the sudden tension that filled the air.

"Kibito," The Supreme Kai started, his beetle black eyes surveying him curiously, "I see that it is not just our predicament that troubles you. Come now, what ails you so?"

Kibito swallowed, "I must admit that I remain conflicted over our decision not to tell Goku and our friends on Earth the truth about the Junior Destroyer, especially after they managed to successfully destroy Majin Buu with only our guidance to aid them."

The deity looked away, prompting Kibito to panic slightly, "Master, I did not mean to cross a line-"

Shin sighed at this, cutting the red-skinned man short, "I stand by my decision, as harsh as it may seem. Son Gohan cannot come back to Earth since he is bound to the Gods. To his family and friends he is as good as dead."

Kibito listened intently, his hands clasped tightly behind his back as his master continued.

"Call it selfish of me, but if Goku had known of his son then he would have been more focussed on trying to find him instead of putting an end to Majin Buu. Granted, I failed to make the connection between Goku's lost son and the new Junior Destroyer until Piccolo approached me at the tournament. Knowing who I was, he was so certain that I knew of Gohan's whereabouts, or certainly of a place where the dragonballs could not reach him."

The red-skinned deity closed his eyes in understanding and nodded firmly.

"It was not easy to lie to them Kibito, especially as they are still very much grieving for the loss of their young friend, but there are some things better left only to the Gods knowledge," said The Supreme Kai, turning back towards the violet sky as a shooting star shot through the distant atmosphere overhead.

"It was the same reason why I was so reluctant to involve the Earthlings in the first place," Shin continued, looking out at the stars, "Though because I had already sent The Supreme Guard into the deepest depths of the known universe looking for the cause of this sudden surge of dark energy I had no other choice but recruit Earth's mightiest warriors."

"A wise decision Master," Kibito replied, bowing his head in respect.

"It did all seem to work out rather swimmingly," he chirped with a wry smile, before casting his gaze afar once more, "I do hope they return safely, they have been gone for quite some time. Though I have had no alert to any danger."

"On the contrary," the assistant said knowingly, "The Supreme Guard have been highly trained by yourself and the Grand Kai personally. They have come a long way in such a short space of time, I am certain that they will return with some sort of clue for us at least."

"Perhaps," said the Creation God, with only the smallest hint of hope in his tone, "Though I think it wise to keep the true purpose of their mission a secret for now. The less that know about Perses, the better - until the time is right of course, although I'm praying that we will never have a need."

"As you wish," said Kibito with a bow.

"Thank you Kibito," The Supreme Kai smiled, though a sadness lingered in his eyes, haunting shadows of a battle long ago seemed to dance within the iris'.

"Come, let us contact the lower Kais."

* * *

 **Lower Kai's World, North Galaxy**

This was bad. This was very very bad.

Of course, he had thought that his day couldn't get any worse when Goku of all people had turned up unannounced for a spot of training that morning. He had only just managed to fix the roof of his house from the last time his former student and decided to 'drop in and say hi' as he called it. King Kai knew differently after all, he could see right through that wayward ruffian. The cheeky grin and charming remarks couldn't fool him after all, for the impromptu visits to his small world had become a regular occurrence over the past eight years.

Goku had maybe thought that he wasn't being that obvious, for the loveable lug was not certainly the type for thinking, especially when it came to what people thought about him. Although it had been strange for the North Kai when the saiyan had appeared out of thin air one day about a year after The Cell Games, asking if it would be alright to use his newly revived planet to train on.

King Kai had questioned the man at first, but had obliged him none the less. He had nothing left to teach Goku after all, save for _manners_ whilst eating, but fighting wise Goku had by far surpassed every student he had ever had. The Kai didn't believe the sordid excuse of 'well, your planet has ten times the gravity of Earth! What better way to get in some high intensity training?' After all, he knew that the Earthling Bulma had advanced her technology so much so that he could train at gravity levels far beyond what his planet could offer. Though he couldn't bring himself to question him any further, for behind the charming smile and nervous laughter was there a pleading look, a desperate man who just needed to escape the real world if for just an afternoon.

Although his former student would never admit it, King Kai could see that what had happened at The Cell Games had changed him. He had felt it after all, the very moment that Goku's son's life energy disappeared altogether, his soul completely vanishing off the map. King Kai didn't understand just what had happened at first, but soon it had become all too clear. Souls didn't just disappear for no reason after all, the laws of the cosmos didn't allow it. Oh yes, Son Gohan's soul had been chosen for a higher purpose, one that wasn't surprising seen as he had displayed strengths like none other he had seen before in his long life span, though the purpose wasn't all that obvious back then.

Though King Kai would never forget the look on Goku's face when the dragon Shenron informed them that his young son could not be brought back to life. The fact that his son had even died at all had certainly been a shock, he had felt Cell's life snuff out and had been too busy celebrating with Gregory and Bubbles to notice that his son had also perished. He had dropped them from where he was nearly suffocating them in a bear hug when Piccolo had practically screamed the news at him. His entire demeanour did a complete three-sixty, his voice shook, his eyes welled with tears but the stubborn saiyan refused to let them fall in front of his former master. Though it didn't matter just how strong he was, Goku was a parent that had just lost a child, and never, ever had he seen the man look so distraught.

After he had asked Dende to wish him back with the Namekian dragonballs, Goku fell to his knees, his resolve broken, his angered fists breaking the tiles apart beneath him. It practically took all of King Kai's sanity to get him to stop transforming right there in the check-in station. He screamed in frustration and grief, his hair flashing from black to gold and back again, his emerald eyes alight with pure rage and despair.

 _"Gohan wasn't supposed to die! My **son** King Kai! My son is gone! Dead! H-how could I have let this happen?!"_

Goku's words seem to echo in his mind long after Porunga had summoned him back to the living world, and the North Kai watched the Earthlings for a while. He didn't know what had possessed him to do so so much, though he supposed he had a duty to watch over them as much as every other planet in the Northern Galaxy. That, and it certainly gave him something to do for a year until he, his planet and companions could be wished back to life by the Earth dragonballs. He was thankful that Goku had remembered to do so, as he had been worried about him ever since he had returned to Earth. The saiyan was certainly not himself, he had fell hard into a deep rooted obsession, hell bent on finding his lost son. He spent more time away from his pregnant wife and more time at The Lookout with Dende and Mister Popo, looking through thousands of ancient scriptures in an attempt to find answers. He had even gone off into space for a time, in a desperate attempt to see if his son just happened to be hiding amongst the stars. All of his training had seemed to have come to complete halt.

That had changed however, at the birth of Goku's second son. The baby boy seemed to have given the saiyan a new lease of life, of which he was in desperate need of. Slowly, but surely, his training resumed and it wasn't long after he had sort out King Kai again did Goku regain the spring in his step, though it was obvious to anyone that he was still struggling to come to terms with the fact that his first born was gone forever.

Even though the rest of the Z-gang had seemingly moved on with their lives, started families, opened dojo's and gotten new jobs, Gohan's short eleven years on the planet had certainly left a lasting impression on his family and friends. Grief made people do funny things, North Kai had already surmised that by the thousands of years he had spent watching over the galaxy, so it was really no surprise when Goku resumed his old obsession and continued getting stronger. Vegeta too, not one for being left in the dust, especially his rival's, trained himself into the ground. The two seemed to have abandoned their old bloodthirsty rivalry and instead formed a new friendly one which involved sparring together regularly, even taking their young sons with them on occasion. It was no wonder that the Z-warriors managed to defeat Majin Buu just over twelve months ago, what with the heights of power they had achieved, especially Goku, Vegeta and Piccolo. King Kai had theorised that they felt as though they owed it to young Gohan, to continue to protect the world that he had once saved yet left behind. It was truly touching to see them all fighting so valiantly together, though he could see that they were disappointed when The Supreme Kai had informed them he had never heard of this 'Son Gohan' they spoke of, nor had any idea how to reach him.

Of course, his benevolent superior had lied through his teeth, he had been doing the same thing ever since he found out the identity of the new junior Destroyer. In truth, he had been hearing whispers for a few years now, that Lord Beerus had been training a very young disciple who was to become his successor. King Kai didn't put two and two together at first, but the presence of the young destroyer quickly became hot gossip among deities, for the boy was incredibly powerful, so powerful that rumour had it he was able to pull the ancient Z-Sword from it's stoney prison. There had been numerous sightings of the destroyer in training with it strapped in a sheath on his back, even West Kai had swore on his life that he had seen him wielding the relic in a conflict in his own galaxy, and that was saying something, the Western guardian wouldn't swear on his living status for just anything. Apparently, according to East Kai, he was endearingly handsome, cheeky, charming and had a mischievous tendency for bending the rules. South Kai had vouched for his mischief, and had even seen the Angel Whis crack him across the back of his head from time to time with his sceptre for stepping out of line.

Still, North Kai had only made the connection when he had heard that he was half-saiyan. Now _that_ was something worth his annual meeting with the rest of his annoying colleagues. He was conflicted however, though decided it would be wise not to let on that he knew the whereabouts of Goku's son, or what he had become. Destroyers were the worst kind of deities in his opinion, even though they had a duty to maintain the balance of the universe, he knew all too well the destructiveness and mercilessness of Beerus' power. His planet wasn't always this small after all.

He wasn't entirely sure just how Goku would react to the news, though he had a hunch that he would be even more devastated to know that his beloved son had spent the last eight years wiping entire planets and races from existence. King Kai had wondered how someone seemingly as pure hearted as Goku could become a destroyer. Then again, if the monstrous power Gohan had displayed at The Cell Games were anything to go by, he shouldn't have been surprised. No wonder Cell had made such a desperate attempt to destroy the Earth, King Kai wouldn't want to have been on the other end of that boy's cold, malicious glare, even before he had tortured Cell within an inch of his life.

And so his former student had spent the last eight years blissfully unaware of what his son had become, and King Kai had intended to keep it that way, he just couldn't bring himself to break the man's heart even more. Though as usual, it wasn't always that simple. The North Kai sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose in despair. He had hoped that The Supreme Kai was contacting him for some other reason but impending doom - didn't anyone call just for a friendly chat nowadays?! But alas, the universe didn't stay peaceful for long, and his galaxy had only just recovered from Majin Buu.

He cast his gaze over to Goku who was busy training some feet away. Donned in a blue and white tracksuit with his symbol on the back, and a hundred ton weighted bands on each limb, the saiyan was quite unaware of his conversation with The Supreme Kai. Which could only be a good thing, for Goku seemed to embrace the concept of something like the universe imploding with an air of childish excitement. He and his friends would be the first to tangle themselves up in this mess.

Though the higher Kai had informed him that no action would be required as yet, certainly not until The Supreme Guard had returned from their venture. He gulped nervously, he really hoped that this increase in dark energy was nothing but a fluke, for if they were correct in their judgement and Lord Perses somehow escaped the void against all odds then it would surely mean the end of everything.

As powerful as Goku was, he wasn't sure that he could go up against a being of divine power. He doubted his son would last long either, for Lord Beerus barely managed to escape with his life after the epic battle that quite literally shook the universe over a thousand years ago.

"Phew, I think that's enough for one day!" came Goku's sudden holler, breaking him out of his thoughts.

The saiyan was smiling widely as he removed his weights, the force of which caused them to sink into the ground, creating huge holes in his garden. Though for once King Kai didn't have the heart to yell at him, unable to ignore the sadness that still lingered in those obsidian eyes.

"Come on lets go inside, I'm starving!" called Goku, rubbing his belly, "What do you say we grab some grub Bubbles?"

The monkey bounced up and down enthusiastically, following him eagerly into the little house. "Hurry up King," he whined from the kitchen, "I've got to eat quick or else Chi-Chi will be mad at me for being late for dinner!"

Gregory rolled his eyes from where he was sat outside, "If you're having food when you get home then why do you need to eat _our_ supplies?!"

"I just want a pre-dinner snack is all!"

"Unbelievable."

Goku ignored him, and the sound of clinking pots and pans could be heard, until the saiyan stuck his head out the window to look at him with a frown upon his features, "King Kai? Aren't you coming?"

He paused, fighting with himself once more. Though he managed to hold his tongue, reminded by the fact that he was bound to his duty once more.

"Why the long face?" Goku laughed, "You look as though the world's about to end or something!"

Then, just like that, his messy head disappeared back into the kitchen, where he continued to argue with Gregory and Bubbles over the mess he was surely making.

"I hope not Goku," King Kai sighed to himself, "I really hope not."

* * *

 **The Table of Kings, Planet Lamorak, Deep South Galaxy**

A series of loud raucous bellows filled the room of an ancient castle, situated at the top of the tallest tower with views of blood red planet below. Planet Lamorak was famous in itself, a host to various blood thirsty battles over the years but now had more fame for the tornados and deadly hurricanes that ravaged the planet. The high winds howled as the skies were steadily getting darker, an indication that the occupants of the round wooden table had been arguing from quite some time. The splintered wooden depiction was central to the increasing tensions going on around it. Some chairs had been knocked over, tankards had been thrown and spilled, causing the sticky alcoholic substance to seep onto the stone floor. The rounded chamber was full of guards and warriors who had accompanied the Kings of their respective planets, all of them of different shapes and sizes. Some races were almost humanoid in their statue, others were short and stocky like goblins, whilst others looked like mutated octopuses. Though despite their obvious differences, every single one of them were involved in an all out brawl.

Their war cries and mighty roars rattled the window panes, echoing off of the old stone walls of the chamber that had been the holding point for their meeting. Paintings depicting old Kings had fallen to the floor, broken pieces of wood littered the ground, along with the unconscious bodies of some unfortunate souls. The sound of knuckles on bone and yelps of pain reached their ears, profanities were being screamed at one another in various different languages, one guard was gripping onto the window ledge for dear life for want of not falling to his death, whilst a King was currently strangling another King with a stolen tapestry.

Though there was one present who was not involved in the fight, a teenage boy in fact, who was merely observing the descending chaos with a bored expression. His chin resting on his hand as he remained in place at what was deemed the head of the table, judging by the size of the throne he was seated upon. He was a handsome young man in his late teens, and looked the sheer epitome of a warrior. He was tall, with large but lean muscles that were only exposed further by the deep blue garb he wore. It opened at the torso, which displayed rippling pectorals with several deep scars running over his upper body as though something with very large talons had sliced into the flesh. His arms were in no better condition, that and his calloused hands showed that he had seen his fair share of battle. His ebony hair was long and wild, reaching to his waist like a mane though he had tied it back with a golden clasp in a vain attempt to tame it. His eyes were just as dark as his hair, hardened with experience, though with a hint of mischief that one could not deny the young saiyan. The only oddity of his appearance was that of the shining golden halo above his head, for the teen was quite obviously dead. He tapped his foot in annoyance, his boot inches away from the shining sword that he had rested against the table leg. The ancient relic was just as important to him as his right arm, and went everywhere with him.

Son Gohan stifled a yawn. He was starting to think that this was a bad idea after all. They had been at this for hours, and the young halfling was getting increasingly bored. Not one of them had managed to come to any sort of agreement. He was actually starting to come round to Lord Beerus' reasoning in wanting the lot of them destroyed. The deep south of the universe was a cesspool for the unjust, full of thieves and murderers, slavery was the norm on some planets, along with drug trafficking, and an abundance of brothels and underground mobs. Most of it was ran by corrupted monarchies that were constantly at war with each other, and although not an immediate threat to the balance of the universe, Lord Beerus was tired of them festering up that part of the Southern Galaxy. That, and their food was tasteless and practically inedible.

Though despite this, Gohan wanted to hear them out, give the warring planets a chance to straighten themselves out before he had to wipe them from existence. That, and he wanted to prove to Lord Beerus and Whis that they didn't have to destroy _everyone_ that stepped out of line. His methods may have been questionable yes, but the young saiyan didn't care what they thought. Though sometimes he couldn't help but think that it would be easier if he did destroy them, this whole plan of his had completely backfired. Calling a meeting between the most corrupt Kings in the universe was perhaps not his brightest idea, hours of arguing about money, supplies, warriors, mobs and everything in between had now turned into an all out punching match. He didn't even want to imagine the look on Lord Beerus' face should he find out about his naive attempt at politics.

As a small member of the Gobalien race whizzed across the table in front of him with a dagger in between his teeth, Gohan let out another yawn. This time, a lot less subtle than the first. The sudden noise escaping the junior Destroyer caused the brawl to halt in it's tracks, all five Kings seemed to jump out of their skin, immediately reminded of just who was in their presence. At once, they dropped to their knees, along with their entourage, who practically trembled with fear.

"L-Lord Gohan!" A burley King spouted, his voice panic stricken, "My apologies your destructiveness, we er - we forgot you were here - not that your presence isn't unnerving, oh no far from it my liege! We were just-!"

"Save it," the destroyer in training sighed, running a had through his hair out of frustration, silencing him instantly whilst the others whimpered, "It's fine. Though we're not getting anywhere here, we're just going around in circles, and your little scrap isn't helping any either."

Tentatively they opened their mouths to protest, but Gohan held up a hand to silence them.

"The only reason I called this meeting was so that I could hear you out," he said in annoyance, his onyx eyes narrowing, "You're lucky that I'm not Lord Beerus or else this conversation wouldn't even be happening."

Simultaneously, the occupants of the room gulped.

"Look," the teenager sighed heavily, pointing to each individual King as he spoke, "All I'm saying is stop the fighting, stop trying to enslave other planets, control your armies, mobs and clean up your act. Further more, stop blowing things up. Do all that, and we're cool."

The Kings looked at each other apprehensively, having not understood the earthling terminology, "Cool? Lord Gohan?"

"Yeah cool, meaning I wont have to do this," he nodded, a glowing ball of dark purple energy growing at the tip of his finger before he flicked it into the air, whereby the entire roof and surrounding walls were destroyed dramatically in a shower of purple particles, "To you."

The cold winds erupted around them like a tremendous galeforce as they were no longer shielded by the high rising structure. The Kings and their companions cried out, squeaking and shivering with terror, grasping onto one another so that they didn't get blown from the platform and plunge to their death in the deep valley below them. They eyed the junior destroyer fearfully, as he spoke again. The roar of the tyrant like winds bellowing in their ears.

"So, are we done?"

"Y-yes my Lord!" they chorused, some of them sobbing.

"Great!" The young saiyan smiled happily, encasing the tower in a protective shield so that the roaring winds were no longer a danger. Some warriors toppled to the floor from where they had been grasping onto the table and remaining stone for dear life.

Though Gohan either didn't seem to notice or ignored them altogether as he produced some parchment seemingly from out of thin air, "Now, sign the treaty and shake hands."

The Kings looked at each other hesitantly, neither of them making a move. Sensing their reluctance, the teen saiyan glared, "Or do I have to destroy you?"

To his delight the warring Kings quickly shook hands, practically falling over themselves in a rush to sign the treaty that Gohan had placed on the table.

"See?" he grinned in triumph, his arms folded across his chest, "Isn't that better now that we're all friends?"

Though before they could answer, or grovel to him as was usually customary, a loud beeping sound reached his ears. With a quick flick of his wrist, the young saiyan materialised the now glowing round communicator his mentor had given him some years ago when he had been allowed to go on small ventures alone. Whis had told him that it was so that Gohan could contact him and Lord Beerus should he need assistance, but the young saiyan knew better by now, and given it's use over the years, it was mainly a ploy so that Whis could check up on him.

"Talk to me," Gohan stated cooly, and at once the glowing flash stopped, and in it's place appeared the smiling face of his mentor.

"Ah Gohan, have you destroyed Planet Lamorak and it's surrounding hub of criminal activity yet?" he asked.

"Nah," the teenager shrugged, feeling rather smug, "Didn't have to, they managed to work it out."

"WHAT?!" Came another voice, and soon enough Lord Beerus had pushed his snout into the frame, "'Worked it out'?! What, did you bake them fairy cakes and have a sing song around a camp fire?! You are literally the worst destroyer ever! And he's to be my _successor_?!"

The Destroyer continued his ranting as he promptly stomped away, causing both Gohan and Whis to chuckle at the display.

"W-was that L-Lord Beerus?" One of the Kings asked out of both awe and fear, looking up from where he was signing the treaty.

"Shh," Gohan scolded him, causing the man to squeak.

"That is excellent news Gohan," Whis praised him, "But how did you manage that? That part of the Southern Galaxy has been having the most vicious wars and who knows what other illegalities waging for decades."

"Ah, don't worry about it," he replied with a smirk, "They just needed a bit of gentle persuasion is all."

The Angel smiled in amusement, "Very well. I daresay you've worked up an appetite, dinner will be waiting for you when you get home my boy. I'll send The Warp right along in due haste. Please try not to jump off early to explore this time, I have something I need to discuss with you."

"Aw come on Master Whis you act like I run off all the time!" He chimed cheekily, causing his mentor to roll his eyes.

"I won't even warrant that with an answer," he sighed, "See you shortly."

"Righto!" said Gohan, switching off his communicator and vanishing it with a wave of his hand before snatching up the signed treaty and banishing it to a safe place also. Satisfied, he turned back to his audience with a hearty wink, but not before grabbing the Z-Sword and hoisting it over his shoulder, "Until the next time chaps. Don't go and step out of line again alright? Or else I'm going to have to destroy you!"

Their eyed widened in terror just as a brilliant white light engulfed the platform, and with that the junior Destroyer was gone, taking the protection from the raging winds with him.

"Did he just-?"

"BRACE YOURSELVES!"

* * *

 **Lord Beerus' Planet, A Far Away Dimension, The Living World**

Gohan blinked the light out of his eyes as the The Warp disappeared and he was met by the foot of the enormous ageing tree that held the palace. He breathed in the air of the planet he had long called his home, which was much fresher compared to that of Planet Lamorak. Shaking his messy hair out of his eyes, the teenager couldn't help but allow a smile to grace his lips. He had had yet another successful venture, and couldn't wait to tease Lord Beerus about it. He was still a little scared of his power, obviously, though he had relished in the fact that his predecessor wasn't allowed to destroy him for want of the universe not imploding, so he was able to get away with tickling the sleeping Oozaru as it were, something that Whis was most amused by.

Time had moved forwards and showed no signs of stopping. Every day had seemed to mould themselves into one, as Gohan continued to push his body past it's limits. After his first sparring match with Lord Beerus, which in all honesty just classified as a beating, he came to realise that it was only the beginning, and the majority of his time would be spent with his face in the dirt.

Much to the young saiyan's chargin, other than his duties as a junior Destroyer, the rest of his endeavours included housekeeping and studying. Though occasionally he would be allowed to join The Supreme Guard on missions to keep his battle skills in check. He enjoyed the time he spent with his friends immensely, though they were few and far between. They were especially impressed with how much he had improved, though he was still no where near to even landing a hit on his predecessor, which Lord Beerus was particularly smug about. Occasionally Whis would join in the fray, and the young saiyan would stand no chance at all against the divine duo, winding up in a crater at the end of each session. Still, he enjoyed his sessions with his mentor, Whis was an incredibly good teacher, and seemed to notice things about Gohan that he didn't know himself, quick to stamp out his bad habits of fighting techniques he had become accustomed to when he had been alive. He had quickly come to know the ways of the universe, the order of divinity, the divine code, and various languages, laws and history. He had mastered techniques he had never even dreamed of, every day was like an adventure, and he never wanted it to end.

 _"Hmph, looks like you're getting better at landing. It's been a while since you fell on your tailbone."_

Gohan rolled his eyes before shooting a glare at the Z-Sword in his palm, "Oh har har very funny. What, are you keeping score now or something?"

 _"Something like that,"_ The voice chuckled to himself, " _I have to entertain myself with something around here, watching you fall on your backside is the highlight of my day. Now you're getting better it's quite fun to keep a tally on how long it'll take you to do it again! Ooh I know how we can make it more interesting! Want to bet on it?"_

"Certainly not," the teenager griped, still scowling.

 _"Spoil sport."_

Gohan sighed, proceeding to take the long route up the winding staircase imbedded into the ancient tree bark in order to admire the view. He had been right all that time ago, when he had successfully pulled the Z-Sword out of the stone, he _had_ heard a voice. It had took a good while for it to make itself known again, and the young saiyan thought that he was going crazy when he had heard it again. But alas, the voice seemed to get stronger and stronger the more he mastered the Z-Sword, and now it was a pretty much constant in Gohan's life. He had attempted to talk to Whis about the mysterious voice inside the sword at first, though his mentor had always brushed it aside with a 'well how fascinating' or a chuckle before moving swiftly on. The voice, or just Z as Gohan liked to call him was just as cryptic when he had asked just how he could speak to him. All the teen had found out was that Z was a celestial being that had somehow gotten himself fused with the sword, and his entity lived within. That was as much as he would let on until 'the time was right', whatever that was all about. Though it was odd that Gohan was the only person that could hear Z, but he tried not to let it bother him too much, and surmised that it must be something do to with him becoming at one with the ancient relic. Though it wasn't much solace, as Z had become a sarcastic, sometimes rather imposing thorn in his side.

 _"You always ruin my fun,"_ Z huffed, as Gohan continued up the vertical incline.

"How so?" the teen asked, readying himself for another sarcastic comment.

" _Oh I could write a book! But how's about we start with a more recent one, when you practically sprinted out of that all female bath house last week?!"_

The young Destroyer cleared his throat awkwardly, a blush marring his cheeks, as he hissed, "I didn't know it was a female bath house! I couldn't read the signs! I only went there because I was all bloody and filthy from the battle with the Hydra!"

 _"Then maybe you should have brushed up on your Faithe language matey, because it was clearly marked 'females only' above the door. And if that wasn't enough then the women in towels should have been a sure sign."_

Gohan's blush grew deeper, "I said I was sorry, and how on earth does me walking in on a load of bathing Faithesia matter to you?"

" _I'm just saying you could have finished your bath at least, I was rather enjoying the view around you."_

The teenager scoffed, "You're a pervert."

 _"And? You're a nutter."_

"How so?"

 _"Well you're the one talking to an inanimate object."_

"You spoke to me first!" Gohan protested hotly, as Z paused.

 _"Now tell me Gohan, which one of those sounds more stupid?"_

"Oh shut up," the junior Destroyer growled, stuffing him roughly into the seethe on his back.

" _Oi!"_ Z shouted, though his cries of anger were shortly muffled by the thick encasement surrounding him.

No sooner had he manage to stifle Z, did he reach the top of the winding staircase, where Whis was waiting for him at the entrance of the old stone palace.

"Ah there you are Gohan," the Angel smiled, "Took the scenic route I gather?"

"Sorry I'm a bit late," said the teen, "Just needed to clear my head."

"Understandable," he replied, "You've certainly worked hard today. Come, Lord Beerus is growing impatient. But no running in the - !"

With that, the young saiyan raced into to temple, ignoring his mentors calls on the search for food. "Oh why do I even bother?" Whis sighed in distain, before following his rapid footsteps.

When he reached the banquet chamber, Gohan was glad to see that an enormous feast was waiting for him. With a quick greeting to Lord Beerus who was sat at one end of the table, he wasted no time in sitting across from him and inhaling everything in front of him.

"Gohan, what have I told you about running in the palace?" Whis' voice cut through the air, causing the teen to swallow his huge mouthful.

"Whoops sorry, I suppose I forgot," the teenager grinned back, causing Lord Beerus to scoff.

"I haven't forgotten the mess you made when you ran in here the last time," he glowered, casting his gaze over to the grand empty fish tank behind him, before sighing, "All those fish, what a waste."

"What do you mean?" Gohan quirked, "Whis did a do over after I crashed into it and it was all fixed again!"

"Yes until you decided to counter me," the destroyer growled, "That blast of yours fried the lot of them!"

"Well, you did say the day before just how much you liked fried fish," the halfling jested, causing the vein in Beerus' temple to throb.

"And you did clothesline him off his feet quite aggressively my Lord," Whis chimed in, "I have to say, it was a rather good counter by our junior Destroyer."

"WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?!"

"Neither Lord Beerus," said Whis calmly, causing Gohan to snort, "And do mind your temper during dinner. That goes for your manners as well Gohan."

The teen gave him a apologetic smile, "Yes sir."

"Now as you're here Gohan, we have much to discuss with you," the Angel continued from where he was stood by Beerus' side.

"Oh?" he quirked, "Like what?"

Whis sighed heavily, and the young saiyan immediately felt unnerved, both he and Lord Beerus' features had become far too serious for his liking.

"I must say that I am surprised that you hadn't noticed it, though I suppose that you have been too busy with your studies and training."

Gohan frowned, his food abandoned on his plate, "Noticed what?"

"There is something stirring within our universe," said Whis, "something incredibly dark and disturbing. I have been in contact with The Supreme Kai and he has indeed sensed that something is amiss, something that if we are correct, will not only affect the universal balance, but the entire universe as we know it."

His onyx eyes hardened, he certainly didn't like the sound of that, and he was rather annoyed at himself for not recognising this dark energy in the first place. Frustratingly, he still couldn't sense it, though he reasoned that his senses weren't quite up to the Godly standard of deities such as Lord Beerus and The Supreme Kai.

"But what is it?" asked Gohan, "can we stop it?"

"Not what, but who," said Lord Beerus, a spark of anger ignited in his eyes, "We think we know who this dark energy belongs to, but at present we do not understand why or even how he is gaining power, much less still alive."

The teenager blinked, something within his memories called out to him, and it was then he understood why the deities looked so serious.

 _"It's him,"_ he heard Z whisper fearfully, though his voice was still slightly muffled.

"Perses," Gohan stated, causing Whis and Beerus to look towards him in surprise.

"You know of Perses?" asked Lord Beerus, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"I've read a book or two about him," shrugged the teen, attempting to remain indifferent, "I know he was the junior Destroyer before me, went on a compete rampage and started destroying everything. You trapped him in a dimension called The Void where no one is supposed to live, let alone escape. Am I missing anything?"

The deities exchanged a look, before Whis spoke, "No Gohan I think you've got all of that. Goodness me just how many books have you read in that common room of yours?"

"Pretty much all of them," the young saiyan brushed off causally, "So you think Perses is trying to escape?"

"We can only guess," said Lord Beerus, "We haven't figured out just where or how yet, but he is drawing power from somewhere in order to gain strength."

"But I thought that there was nothing in The Void?" he frowned, "Surely he can't gain any power from inside there?"

"Exactly our point Gohan," said Whis, "You have to understand that Perses was practically dead when we were able to capture him. The Void does awful things to a anything within it, it sucks out what little life there is left, anything that enters turns into an empty shell. For Perses to come back from that would require extraordinary power, something that he will not find in that dimension. My reasoning is that he is somehow drawing energy from the world of the living."

His eyes widened, "But how is that even possible?"

"If we knew don't you think we would have destroyed the source by now?" Lord Beerus scoffed, rolling his eyes at him. "Either way, this is something us more senior deities are dealing with, we're only telling you in order to give you fair warning for what comes next."

"Huh?"

"Well Gohan," said Whis, with a small smile, "We've had somewhat of a revelation that has come at the most convenient time, in my opinion."

"I'm not sure that I like the sound of this," he groaned, as Beerus' lips drew into an ominous smirk.

"Whilst you were busy on Planet Lamorak, Lord Beerus took a short nap in which he happened upon a certain dream," Whis began to explain.

"A dream I had before some years back but had forgotten about," sniffed Beerus, "It wasn't important to me then so why should I remember it? But you see back then I didn't have a half-saiyan as my successor, so the words Super Saiyan God wouldn't have meant anything to me."

Gohan blinked, "Super Saiyan _God_?"

"I thought that you might not have heard of it, despite your saiyan heritage," said Whis, "But fear not, I believe that this Super Saiyan God form is the key to ensuring that you become a fully fledged God much quicker. What with the balance of the universe at stake, I think it only proper that you attain this form so that you can master it should we need it's power."

The teenager was completely bowled over, "But Lord Beerus said it was just a dream? Are you sure it's some kind of form?"

"I saw it with my own eyes boy," the Destroyer said dangerously, before his brow furrowed, "Though the details are a little hazy."

"Gohan is right my Lord, your dream-state premonitions have a habit of not coming true," offered Whis. "I have checked and double checked, there is no Super Saiyan God currently in existence."

"Oh really now? Then I'll prove to you that what I speak is truth," Beerus sneered, calling out to the skies, "Oh Seer! Seer? Can you hear me?!"

A loud clatter sounded in the distance, followed by an almighty crash as the Oracle Fish whizzed into the chamber, before skidding to a halt right before them.

"You called my Lord?" she bowed respectfully.

"Yes," he replied, getting up from his seat and stalking towards her, "I seem to remember having a dream, a premonition as it were before my last decades long sleep and this nitwit arrived on my planet."

Gohan scowled as the Destroyer continued, "I dreamed that I would meet a powerful warrior who took on a divine form to rival the Gods themselves. I spoke to you directly about it."

"Oh you mean the Super Saiyan God prophecy?" the Seer asked, prompting Beerus to nod his head in affirmation as he addressed Whis and Gohan.

"See? I told you," said Lord Beerus smugly, before turning angrily to the Oracle, "I knew when Whis showed me Gohan's super saiyan form that I had heard the term before, but a certain FISH FACE DECIDED TO KEEP IT QUIET!"

The blue fish scoffed, "Well you should have asked. I prophesies a lot of things. You can't expect me to remember them all!"

"BUT THATS YOUR JOB-! Ugh," the destroyer God cut himself short, inhaling deeply, "Whatever, it doesn't matter. The _point_ is that we need to figure out how to make you this Super Saiyan God."

Gohan gulped, as Lord Beerus jammed a clawed finger in his direction, "But how?"

"The best people to ask are other saiyans, what better way to get answers than straight from the race that the form is attributed to?" said Whis.

The young saiyan frowned, "But the last saiyans alive are on-"

"Earth yes," his master answered for him, "Which is precisely where you are going to go to get answers."

Gohan blinked, and then blinked again, before the reality of what Whis had just inferred really sunk in.

"WHAT?!" He shrieked as a whirlwind of emotions flooded his being all at once, the panic setting in, "Y-you want me to go back to Earth?"

"Only temporarily," said Whis, "Though I agree it isn't the most ideal situation, we will have to make sure that your true identity remains undetectable. We will have to lay down some ground rules. It would be too risky."

"If it's so risky then why can't any of _you_ go?" he asked haughtily, causing Beerus to scoff.

"Are you serious? We're far too busy, and if you haven't noticed, there is the matter of the universe's impending doom."

"Can't I just _ask_ Master Zuno how to transform into a Super Saiyan God?" he continued to argue.

"If you want to kiss him, be my guest."

"Dragonballs?"

"Would take centuries to summon the dragon God Zalama you know that, the dragonballs are spread across universes."

" _Namekian_ dragonballs?"

"A gross misuse of such sacred orbs I must say, do you want us deities to look bad?"

"Time rings?"

"Only Supreme Kai's are permitted to use them, and anyway they only go forward in time, so there is no use in you trying to use them to go to the past to see if there was a Super Saiyan God previously and ask them how to do it."

"What about The Supreme Guard? Can't they go in my place?"

"Do you _really_ want to set Makhai loose on the Earthlings?"

"Alright FINE!" Gohan cried finally, he was now standing and running his hand through his hair out of frustration, "I'll go. But as soon as I find out how to transform into this Saiyan God then I'm coming home."

"Quite right," said Whis with a small smile, "Your best bet for information might be Prince Vegeta, though if you want to avoid bumping into your family and friends as much as possible then it might do well to summon Shenron with Earth's dragonballs if it comes to it."

The teenage Destroyer sighed, his mentor could read him like an open book. A long time ago, he would have given anything to be able to go back to Earth, to see his family and friends, to check in on them and see if they were happy. But now…

He didn't even know how much time had passed since he had died. If he could hazard a guess he would put himself at around sixteen or seventeen if his growth spurts were anything to go by. He had never felt the need to ask Whis, the more he distanced himself from the realms of the living the better. For he would never be able to go back. And what's more if he sees them and they him, it would make it so much harder to go away again. He had thought he had made peace with it. He really didn't want to go through all that again.

"You may choose not to go Gohan," the Angel told him sincerely, "But the universe may fall."

The young saiyan whirled around angrily, "That's not a choice, that's an ultimatum!"

"Ah tomato, tom _a_ to," he shrugged indifferently, as the teen sighed in despair, "though I must stress, I advise you not to indulge yourself with your loved ones for longer than needed, you will only make it harder on yourself."

"Well, duh."

"Oh which reminds me," Whis chirped, waving his staff so that his halo disappeared above his head, "Remember to keep that halo of yours concealed like so, or else you're bound to be questioned."

"Yeah, yeah," Gohan griped, "Just promise you'll bring me back as soon as I find out how to become a Super Saiyan God?"

"But of course!" He beamed, and to the teenager's horror, did a bright white light encompass his being.

"Wait! You're sending me _now_?!" Gohan bellowed in utter disbelief.

"There's no time like the present!" Whis continued to grin, as Lord Beerus and the Oracle Fish roared with laughter behind him, "Toodles!"

And in a blinding flash, he was gone.

* * *

 _3rd September, 2018._

* * *

 **Reviews**

Aaron Leach : Thank you!

kidneysrgood: Gohan was able to use the Hakai technique without God Ki because of his mortal qualities, accompanied by how strong he is. He has by no means mastered it, especially on his first time. Granted, in this chapter he is a little further on. it makes sense as in Super Frieza could use the energy of destruction with no God Ki and Goku couldn't ;)

Animefortin95: Time line a little different im afraid, as Whis woke up Beerus early to present Gohan in the second chapter.

HalfbreedSayian: thank you very much, I hope you keep loving it!

phyre1129 : aw thank you! that really means a lot!

Jack906: sooooooooooooon

HungryHungryHippie : thanks! I hope you like this chapter just as much!

victor0606 : thank you!

Lightningblade49: oh you bet!

WiffleDick678 : Explained in a previous chapter, Gohan could have chosen NOT to age, though he did as he didnt want to be called a shortie forever! So yes, he is grown and will continue to do so.

X3runner: wow thanks so much for your review! Its so lovely to hear! I cannot reveal to much at present, although I do agree with your concept of super saiyan God colours, so stay tuned!

Viscides: definitely food for thought! thank you!

speedking535: soooooooon

V 4 Vellian: thank you, i hope that this chapter has answered some of your questions!

keyblademeister88 : sorry no Buu! But i promise itll be action packed!

Naite-Laef: thank you so much!

hawkeyestratos1996 : yay thanks!

memmek10k: Videl? ... **laughs evilly** soooon

Drew86419: fair enough, though I hoped youve continued reading to see how it has developed. for me, its all about creating a wider universe, and making earth feel smaller ;)

Guest: thank you! and thanks for being patient! yes it was a bit brutal having all the recruits drop at once but i think it makes it more dramatic! mwahaha. As for the tree, im so glad you enjoyed that!

Gelid : oh you will see! I have ideas with colours!

Guest: well he has the Z-sword...so you ll see whether he has mystic. we all know the opportunity for it is there! As for gohanxalala I actually really liked them together too ;)

777torn777: a looooong, long way!

x2leoj: wow that means a lot thank you so much!

DragonCrusader : heh heh see what i did there!

johndoe86 : thank you!

Toorafc: thanks!

Guest: (erin) thank you very much! I hope youve enjoyed this chapter!

Back seat fighte : haha! yep, he is goofy!

anonymous : oh trust me, there will be much asskicking

draconianking : more has arrived! hope you like it!

Trougue: soz. ive tried! :)

HeartlessAlpha : thank you! and exactly, screw the cannon, Gohan continues forth ;)

StarGazer2326 : sorry i cant reveal just yet!

Robthekiwi121: sorry no Buu! But reunting is imminent

EleazarTheUnforgotten: you got it!

Guest: thank you so much, Gohans strength will be revealed more as it progresses! :)


	9. Back To Earth

_A/N: Over 500 followers?! You guys make my life! Thank you so much, I'm so glad you're enjoying to story so far. Okay so this update is out a little quicker than I expected, but I have been diagnosed with Shingles and am currently stuck in the house with nothing to do! So I am abandoning all adult responsibilities and cracking on with this story! Honestly all your reviews are so helpful and lovely and I just can't get over it! Just a little warning, as Gohan is growing up there will be more swear words etc, which is why this is T rated. The rating may have to change to M as the story progresses because of brutal fight scenes, more swearing and possible adult themes._

 _But yay Gohan is back on Earth! finally! More adventures to follow! As always, enjoy. ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

 **Back to Earth**

 **xxxx**

 **Northern Wastelands, Planet Earth, Age 775**

It was just a normal, peaceful day on the little blue planet at the centre of the Northern Galaxy. The bright May sunshine seemed to encompass most of the continent, bathing the Earthlings in the refreshing waves of warmth that the summer months brought. The majority of the Earth's inhabitants were going about their business as usual, unaware of the brilliant tunnel of light that had just shot through their planets atmosphere, for it was so fast that it was gone quicker than the untrained eye could see. For those who could sense Ki however, it was an entirely different story.

Scattered across the planet as per usual when there wasn't a threat upon the horizon, the Earth's strongest protectors had quite the shock as a great, unyielding power suddenly assaulted their senses. Though before they had time to process such a power, or even pin point just where it had sprang up from without warning, did it vanish completely. The Z-Fighters paused for a moment, sweeping their senses over the entire planet - but nothing. Shrugging to themselves, and passing it off as their minds playing tricks on them, they continued with their respective tasks at hand, completely unawares to the screaming junior Destroyer that had crashed quite unceremoniously into the dusty ground of a desolate wasteland.

"Oof!" Gohan winced in pain, dust flying everywhere as he landed, The Warp dissipating around him in an instant.

 _"Ha! Called it!"_

The teenager ignored Z's laughter, rubbing his sore backside and clambering to his feet. He blinked, realising that he was indeed alone.

"Oi!" He yelled to the skies angrily, "You can't just leave me here!"

Nothing.

 _"Tough break kid."_

He huffed in annoyance when he received no answer, although he really wasn't expecting one. He had to somehow bribe Whis to teach him that technique. Then again, he was too weary of Lord Beerus using it, let alone the mischievous half-saiyan. Gohan sighed, relenting in the fact that he was now stuck on Earth. The only solace he had gained was the fact that he had enough sense to hide his Ki as he had entered the atmosphere, if he hadn't, he would have no doubt that the Z-Fighters would already be upon him. He groaned, running his hands over his face as the breeze blew his ceremonial garb around him. Why did he even agree to this?

Still, being back on Earth was a rather nice feeling. Bright blue skies and fluffy white clouds were a stark contrast to the dark amber and red of Beerus' planet. However, looking around, he couldn't depict just where in the HFIL he was. A desolate wasteland greeted him, the earth dry and cracked underneath his boots. He frowned, depicting various craters and crevices around him. There were no trees or life of any sorts, rock formations lay crumbled on the ground and what looked like ash and scorch marks were evident amongst the beige backdrop. If he was any sort of Destroyer in training, he would assume that what stood before him was the aftermath of an epic battle… _Oh_ …

A shiver suddenly ran the length of his spine and down to the place where his tail used to be. The scenery was now all too familiar, and the memories that he had long since suppressed came flooding to the surface. His stomach churned uncomfortably, and if his heart was any use at all he was certain that it would be pounding by now. He had no doubt of the reason why he had landed here, his soul must still be connected somehow.

This was the last place that he had set foot on Earth. This was where he had died.

The Cell Games arena.

He suppressed another shudder, swallowing the lump in his throat and kicking off from the ground with the idea of getting as far away from the wasteland as possible. Yet as soon as he lifted into the air, he stopped short. Something glinted in the sunlight, catching his eye from the other side of an enormous crater. Curious, the young saiyan floated towards it, and his heart caught in his throat when he realised what it was.

He landed swiftly, his onyx eyes fixated on the bronze statue in front of him. It shined brightly in the glare of the sunlight, and seemed to be the only thing standing for miles. His own, young face grinned out at him, donned in the gi that was reminiscent of his old mentor. Short spikes stuck out at odd angles atop his head, capturing the wildness of his once short hair. A long bronze cape, complete with shoulder pads, was stagnant in a non existent breeze. His face was youthful, happy, his stance strong with his arms folded across his chest.

Gohan had thought that he had looked so cool back then, his eleven year old self had wanted to be just like Mister Piccolo, coupled with all the strength and bravery of him and his father. He gulped, his chest becoming tight with emotion as he stared at the statue of himself. Who erect such a thing? Preserve the memory of a boy whose cockiness and rage had cost the life of his father and endangered his friends, as well as the entire Earth? It was only then did he notice the vast array of flowers surrounding the bronze depiction.

It wasn't a monument at all, it was a grave.

Brushing away some of the flowers that were deadened, he uncovered the plaque that lay at his eleven year old feet.

 _The final resting place of Son Gohan_

 _18th May Age 757 - 26th May Age 767_

 _Beloved Son, Friend and Hero_

 _The Last Enemy That Will Be Destroyed Is Death_

The teenager couldn't help but snort at the last line. It was sort of ironic, when his current role in the universe was effectively Death itself.

He sighed, noticing that candles and trinkets accompanied the flowers, along with a few childish drawings and old, sad looking teddybears. He had been rather young when he had died after all. The grave was well kept, he observed, and not much dust around considering where it was situated. He hesitated for a moment, but decided it might be too much to read the notes and letters attached to the flowers.

Suddenly, a spark of Ki alerted his senses, causing him to incline his head towards the horizon. The energy didn't seem extremely powerful or familiar, which put him at ease. He certainly wasn't ready to run into his family and friends just yet, and was willing to hide it out and avoid them altogether before Whis finally realised that his plan was ridiculous and futile and came to take him home. But alas he needed answers on how to achieve this Super Saiyan God form, whatever it was, or else face the probable wrath of Perses unprepared.

A mustard yellow jet flew overhead, it's blades whipping against the air and causing his hair to blow back from his face. The words ' _SATAN_ ' were emblazoned onto the side of the copter, and struck Gohan with a sense of familiarity, though he couldn't remember just where he had heard the name before. Curiosity getting the better of him, as it always did, the young saiyan stayed in place as the helicopter landed a short distance away. He watched as the door to the cockpit opened, and out stepped a teenage girl. She wore a long white t-shirt that reached her thighs, along with tight ripped jeans and fighting boots, fingerless gloves adorning her hands. She had tied her long raven hair back into two pigtails that cascaded down her back and reached her petite waist. Her dark hair contrasted brilliantly with her deep sapphire eyes that surveyed the area before she jumped from the cockpit and landed effortlessly upon the dusty ground.

Gohan's throat ran dry all of a sudden, and he couldn't help but notice that she was incredibly beautiful, and surprisingly rather strong for a human. He shook himself mentally as he realised that he was staring, his onyx eyes darting all over her curves, Whis would no doubt smack him over the head with his sceptre for that. The teenager had had numerous crushes over the years, and had been rather taken with a princess from an alien planet at one time. Though as his mentor had informed him, a Destroyer God's work included no time for girlfriends.

 _"Hubba hubba!"_ Z wolf whistled, though before the halfling could scold him, he realised that the girl was merely a foot away from him.

Her eyes suddenly widened at the sight of him standing there, "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise anyone else was here."

"It's fine," he managed to force out, swallowing the lump in his throat and giving her a reassuring smile as she approached. There was something about her eyes that he couldn't quite put his finger on, though it made a strange feeling erupt in his stomach, "I was just leaving."

"Oh please, don't leave on my behalf," she implored, and it was then did Gohan notice that she had a bunch of flowers in her hands, "I just came to replace these."

He stared at her, intrigued, as the raven haired girl bustled about beside him. She picked up a glass vase closest to the engraving, and replaced the dying flowers with fresh ones.

"Daisies?" he asked, causing a little heat to rise to her cheeks.

"Yeah, what of it?" she snapped suddenly, her eyes narrowing dangerously at him.

He blinked in surprise, sensing a challenge from her. She must have thought he was teasing her, and from the challenging stare she was readying herself to shoot him down. Or punch him, one or the other. "Er nothing," he mustered, "I just thought it was an odd flower choice. It's not a bad thing though."

She stared at him for a moment, before accepting his answer, her delicate hand reaching out to rearrange the new flowers.

Odd.

"Well, usually people put lilies and forget-me-not's," she explained finally, "but I just think that those are a bit morbid. Daisies are… well, they symbolise hope and innocence, which is what he is all about I suppose."

Gohan frowned, looking towards the statue and back to the girl. Maybe it had been true once, but he hadn't been innocent since he had lost control against Cell.

"What did you bring?" she asked suddenly, this girl seemed just as curious about him as he was her.

"Oh, nothing," he said simply, but quickly realised that this may have been the wrong thing to say, "I've er, never been here before. I've been away, it's just odd to see me- er him like this."

"Did you know him?" she asked softly, tearing her eyes away from her work and staring intently at him.

He sighed, "An old friend."

"I'm sorry," the girl said sincerely, her fierceness having dissipated. Slowly, she looked back up at the bronze saviour of Earth, "Your friend was great person, he was selfless. He saved me, you know."

"Pardon?" he asked, whipping his head towards her. There was definitely something about those eyes.

"I was there at the Cell Games," she told him, her gaze never leaving the statute, "I snuck into the boot of my dad's car so that I could watch him fight up close. There was no way that I was going to be stuck watching it on TV at home like everyone else. Cell, that _monster_ , he was about to fire an attack, and Gohan saved me. He was so quick that I didn't even notice I wasn't dead until I was flying through the air. I'll never forget what he did. So I come here once every month. Change the flowers, clean the statue, it's the least I could do."

Gohan gaped at her, unable to stop himself, "Wait, _you're_ the girl from the Cell Games?!"

She sighed, pointing at herself as if it was obvious, "Um yeah, you know, the former World Champ's daughter? The little nutcase that nearly got herself killed? It was all over the news at the time."

"Your dad is Mister Satan?" He spluttered, attempting not to laugh out loud as he thought of the big hairy goof of a man who got knocked out of the ring by Cell with what was effectively a bitch slap.

And did she say _former_ Champion? There must have been another martial arts tournament whilst he had been gone. That would make it at least five years since he had died.

She rolled her eyes, "Wow you really have been away, have you been living under a rock?"

"Something like that," he couldn't help but grin at her.

The Satan girl gave him a wry smile, before sighing, the sky was steadily growing amber, much resembling Lord Beerus' planet. The halfling blinked in the realisation that he hadn't seen a sunset in a very long time. Well, none as spectacular as this.

"It's strange to think that it's nearly been eight years hasn't it? It doesn't seem that long ago really," she sighed next to him.

He nodded his head, as violet started to intermingle with - wait, _what_?!

"E-eight years?!" Gohan yelped, as the girl looked towards him in alarm, "You're telling me it's been _eight_ years?!"

He grasped at his chest desperately, he was hyperventilating. Eight years? That meant he was nineteen! Nineteen years old and he had just screamed like a little girl, in front of a very pretty girl who he had just met. And he was now on his hands and knees, pulling at his hair and muttering so many obscenities that he was surprised that The Supreme Kai didn't strike him down where he lay. Had it really been THAT long?!

"Are you alright?!" The girl gasped, suddenly alarmed as she kneeled to his height.

Gohan wasn't calming down, and he was on the verge of having a panic attack when a loud slapping noise reached his ears. He jumped, realising from hearing alone that the ballsy girl had slapped him in order to knock some sense into him.

" _Ow!"_ she winced, wringing her wrist, "What the bloody hell is your face made of?!"

"S-sorry!" He gasped, grabbing onto her hand and pulling them to their feet, healing it instantly with a shock of Ki. Though luckily the girl didn't notice, and it was so fast that she thought it had just smarted a little, rather than broken her fingers. He really needed to lower his guard.

"Sorry," he repeated, as the girl eyed him, "It's just… it's just been a long day."

The teen saiyan gulped, realising she hadn't said anything in over a minute.

Slowly, she crept towards him, her mouth opening in shock "When you said you'd been away… have you been in the hospital?"

"Hospital?" He frowned.

"Sorry to pry," she said, concern in her eyes, "But you said you'd been away, and the way you just reacted only tells me that you don't know how much time has passed since your friend died. Did you have amnesia or something?"

He stared at her, hesitating. Well he couldn't bloody well tell her the truth could he? This girl did seem smart, and she was certainly nosy. His brain told him to go with it against his better judgement, hopefully Whis would figure something out that didn't involve Earth and come and pick him up soon.

"Let's see," she continued, not giving the young saiyan chance to answer, "Do you know what year this is?"

"Uh…" he started, quickly adding the numbers in his head, "Age seven-hundred and seventy-five."

"What _date_?"

Shit.

"I rest my case," she said smugly, before her eyes softened, "Why didn't you say anything? You poor bugger. It's obvious to me now, you must have just come out of the hospital and thrown on the first clothes you came across!"

Gohan's nose wrinkled in annoyance, as he folded his arms protectively over his ceremonial garb.

"Where did you find those anyway?" she teased, "In a fancy dress shop? They're so weird!"

"I, uh, don't remember?" he squeaked.

The girl sighed, pulling on his arm, "Come on, you're coming home with me."

"W-what?" he asked, this girl was incredibly odd.

She rolled her eyes at his reluctance, "I'm not going to leave a lost boy all alone after finding out he's had amnesia for Kami knows how long. You need some proper clothes and food in your belly. I'm heading to my dad's first for dinner because I only moved into my own place a couple of months ago so it's a bit of a mess. But don't worry, we'll eat there and then you can sleep on my sofa until you're back on your feet. My dad's a bit of a pain in the arse but he won't be opposed to an extra house guest."

Gohan stared at her in disbelief, he hadn't been bossed around like this by anyone other than two certain deities in a very long time. Something told him from the determined look in her eyes that he wasn't going to get away with not accepting the pretty girl's offer so easily. Though food did seem amazing right now, and it _was_ getting late.

Slowly he smiled, "Well, in that case, might I know the name of my saviour?"

"Oh!" She flushed, realising that neither of them had exchanged names, "It's Videl. What's yours?

Double shit!

"Or can't you remember?" Videl asked, wincing a little incase she had caused offence.

"Um, no it's uh, Beerus!" he blurted, without thinking.

"What?" Videl blinked.

What?

 _"What?"_ chimed Z.

"Yeah, Beerus," he repeated, not wanting to seem stupid. In all honesty the young saiyan wanted to slap himself. He had just said the first name had come to mind! Dammit!

"Hmm that's a strange name," she observed, before breaking out into a smile, "Well, let's go Beerus. I can fill you in on everything you've missed after dinner."

Gohan sighed, before following the girl into her jetcopter. Well, at least no one was familiar with the name Beerus the Destroyer this far North of the galaxies, or else he was certain that utter chaos would unleash.

The ride in Videl's jetcopter was unbearably slow, and he couldn't help but think that if Lord Beerus were here then he would have destroyed the Earth in annoyance and condemned any such vehicle like it in the universe straight to HFIL. Though Gohan wasn't as temperamental as the purple kitty cat, and even though it was slow, he couldn't help but enjoy the scenery.

Clusters of lights twinkled at him like constellations from below as they flew over numerous villages and cities. He could just make out the green foliage of grass, forests and trees, along with snow capped mountains in the distance as they headed further East. It was like seeing it from the other side, and he was having a very similar reaction to when he had first set foot on Beerus' planet. Had he ever admired Earth's beauty like this before? A part of him couldn't help but think that he had taken it for granted in all the years he had been alive.

As the sky grew darker, the shadow of the Eastern mountains drew closer, and Gohan started to panic a little, realising that they were heading straight for his former home. He had to force himself not to sense for his parent's Ki. No, prophecy or not, he would wait it out until Whis picked him up. He couldn't risk seeing them, or else it would be even harder to tear himself away. He had a job to do after all, and he wouldn't let the universe implode because of him.

"Um, Videl?" he asked, causing her sapphire eyes to avert to him momentarily before focusing on where she was going, "Just how far East are we going?

"Oh we'll be landing shortly," she smiled, as he sighed in relief, "Dinner should already be waiting."

He smiled back, "Thanks."

And descend they did, passing over an enormous sign that read ' _Welcome to Orange Star City!'_ before flying over the town centre that was vibrant with life and light. Videl smiled at the look on his face, as the young saiyan had pressed his face to the glass, watching the hustle and bustle of Earthlings below. The city seemed to glow an array of bright colours, and he could make out people decorating the streets with streamers, balloons and strings of fairy lights. Large crowds seemed to circulate around various pubs and similar establishments, and a giant billboard was being erected in the middle of the town square, though all he could depict from it from this height was a flash of golden paint.

"They're getting the streets set up for the celebrations," she informed him, sighing at the confused look he gave her, "It's the eighth year anniversary of The Cell Games in two days."

Gohan's frown only deepened. Why would the Earthlings be celebrating with such gusto? To be fair the planet _was_ saved from being annihilated, but that fate had been avoided on numerous occasions before, and from his recollection the Earthlings had never celebrated so enthusiastically so many years after the event.

Videl shook her head, mistaking the look on his face for something entirely different altogether, "Kami, we're going to have to hope that your memory comes back soon, just how much can you remember?"

"Uh, last time I checked, The Cell Games were pretty much the last thing," he informed her, it wasn't a complete lie after all.

"What happened?" she asked in a sympathetic tone.

The teenager sweated, damn it this girl didn't stop asking questions!

"I er, hit my head," he said stupidly, "I was out in the city when The Cell Games were happening, and with all the earthquakes going on, I fell over and blacked out. The next thing I remember was waking up this morning in the hospital!"

"You fell over?" she quirked disbelievingly.

"It's as stupid as it sounds!" He laughed nervously.

 _"Idiot,"_ mustered Z from his sheathe.

"Shut. Up!" Gohan hissed through gritted teeth, though thankfully Videl didn't seem to hear him.

"Wow I can't believe you've been out of it for that long," she continued, "Don't worry though Beerus, if your memory doesn't come back then I've got a couple of friends that could help you out."

He frowned, did she mean a psychiatrist or something?

"Well, this is us!" She beamed, as the pavement grew nearer and they landed with a small bump.

Feeling rather cramped, Gohan eagerly clambered out of the copter and took a good look around him. He had to admit that he was impressed. They were in a very posh looking neighbourhood. With large high rising houses that were gated and hidden behind beautiful green trees. The street was ridiculously clean, with a shiny red post box in the middle of the pavement. They were stood in front of the gates of what looked like the largest house on the street. Four stories high, with enormous bay windows, stone flagged stepped led up to a large double oak door with a brass knocker on the front. The gates were wrought iron, and behind them lay a pebbled path that led up to the house.

Videl smiled, "A little much I know, but Dad used to be the world martial arts champion after all."

"You say used to be," said Gohan thoughtfully, "Was there another tournament?"

"Oh yeah, last year," she informed him, and the young saiyan instantly picked up an aura of darkness and sadness around her, "Dad technically won, but a lot of stuff happened and people got disqualified, he didn't have chance to fight anyone really. Rather than winning by default he renounced his title until the next tournament. He's a good man like that."

He frowned, wondering why the boastful buffoon he remembered would do something so selfless as Videl reached up to press the buzzer, although he couldn't help but wonder if his father and the others had competed. He wouldn't put it past them. But why didn't anyone win? He had a funny feeling that he was missing something.

"Shit," Videl whispered suddenly, retracting her hand away from the buzzer so fast as if she had been burned, "I forgot to say, one of my dad's _friends_ is staying…"

Gohan blinked, noticing the way she had wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"He's an odd looking fellow," she informed him, "But he's alright really. A little protective over his food, so just make sure you sit far away from him at dinner okay? He trains at the dojo with Dad, he's uh, lets just say he's not from around here."

He nodded, processing all the information. Protective over his food? Huh, sounded a lot like a certain God of Destruction in his opinion.

Giving him another smile, she pressed the buzzer and voiced her presence to whomever the operator was. The gates swung open to allow them passage, but no sooner were they near the front steps did the large oak doors swing open and non other than the Champ himself appear.

The young saiyan raised an eyebrow, Hercule Satan hadn't really changed that much since the last time he had seen him. He still sported that ridiculous afro, sideburns and trimmed beard that stretched over his enormous jaw. He was dressed casually in grey sweatpants and a black tank top, that did nothing to cover the hairiness of his muscular chest and arms.

He regarded Videl with the same sparkling sapphire eyes as she, giving her a wide grin and letting out a bellow of laughter that thundered over the gardens.

"Sweet-pea!" He bellowed lovingly, "I wondered where you had gotten to! It was getting late and I was about to ring the police department and-!"

" _Dad_ ," the raven-haired girl interrupted, looking slightly embarrassed, "Will you stop fussing? I'm nineteen for goodness sake! And I _am_ the police department, nothing bad is going to happen!"

Mister Satan chuckled, moving to embrace her, which she allowed with a playful roll of her eyes.

"Oh I've missed you so much! It's been so long since you visited!"

"I was here yesterday!" she protested, though the amusement was evident in her tone.

"Well you can't blame a man for worrying about his baby girl-!"

Hercule suddenly stopped dead, as he caught sight of the tall, muscular young man in odd clothes standing next to his daughter.

"And just who is this _boy_?" He growled, his demeanour doing a complete one-eighty as he positively glared at him.

He blinked, he certainly hadn't received a greeting like that in a while. Usually, people would automatically cower in his presence. It was actually rather refreshing.

" _Daddy_ ," Videl warned, catching on quickly, "This is Beerus. I found him wondering around Son Gohan's grave earlier, he's got amnesia and by the sounds of it only remembers snippets of his life."

"Really now?" he glowered, giving him a scrutinising gaze, "And just what do you call that get up your wearing? Looks like some kind of punk to me."

"Dad," the girl pressed, before Gohan could open his mouth in an angry retort, "He remembered that Son Gohan was a friend so _be nice_."

Mister Satan regarded him for a few moments before breaking out into a dazzling smile, "Beerus eh? Well you're a lucky young man being picked up by my Videl here. Such a sweet girl she is, helping out where she can. Now listen up sonny, I'd be happy to help with this amnesia business you've got going on, but I don't want you trying anything funny with my daughter!"

" _Dad!_ " the daughter in question positively seethed, "It's not like that! It's just dinner, and I'm going to try and figure out how to help him tomorrow!"

"Yeah don't worry Mister Satan," Gohan chuckled, "I'll be out of your's and Videl's hair in no time at all."

"Now that's what I like to hear!" He chortled, clapping him on the back before pulling him into the house.

Videl rolled her eyes behind her father's back, giving Gohan an exasperated look.

The young saiyan grinned back, just as Mister Satan started talking his ear off about which limb he would rip off first if he were to ever to lay a finger on his 'precious baby girl'. Gohan wasn't really listening, and instead was admiring the grandeur of the house. Beautifully painted pictured lined the walls, framed by golden patterns and strung over white washed walls. The floor was made of marble, with mahogany tables lining the huge hallway. A spiral staircase stood in front of them, leading up to the upper levels, where Gohan could see a glistening chandelier dangling from the top ceiling.

After a whistle stop tour of the house, in which Hercule was eager to show the teenager his gun collection much to Videl's despair, did they finally sit down for dinner. It was rather odd, sitting at the dining table with the girl he had saved from The Cell Games and her ignoramus father who had mellowed out significantly in his opinion. He couldn't help but think that it was due to what the man had seen against Cell eight years ago, the Z-Fighter's power must have both terrified and humbled him. It was clear that the Satan's were rich, and Mister Satan's popularity hadn't wavered despite his loss in world champion status. Butlers brought out all kinds of delicious foods that Gohan hadn't realised he had missed so much and as consequence was devouring everything that they put in front of him with impressive gusto. Videl and her father were staring at him with a mixture of horror, awe and disgust. He had forgotten how just how good the food on Earth was, and he made a mental note to take some of it back to Lord Beerus and Whis. His tastebuds were in heaven!

"It's the amnesia," he informed them in between bites, "I can't remember the last time I ate!"

Videl gave him an amused look, "You certainly have an appetite, I've only seen a handful of people eat like that."

"Just hungry," he shrugged with a smile, before gulping down an entire steak and kidney pudding whole.

Suddenly, a tingle presented itself in the base of his neck. He stopped eating abruptly, as an immensely powerful Ki approached. His eyes widened, as a blob of a creature entered the dining room, an aura of crippling energy surrounding him. He was huge and bulbous, with pink gelatinous skin and squinty dark eyes. He wore baggy white trousers and boots, along with a black waistcoat that barely stretched over his bulging belly, and a small purple cape that was tied underneath numerous chins.

"Ah there you are Buu!" Hercule chimed happily, "All your food is ready for you."

Buu? As in _Majin_ Buu?! What. The. Actual. Fuck.

"Beerus? Is something wrong?" Videl asked him worriedly, as all his eating had abruptly come to a halt.

But Gohan was glowering at the monster in front of him. Just what the bloody hell was that horrid creature doing here? In Mister Satan's house of all things! He remembered The Supreme Kai informing Whis that Majin Buu had been defeated. He had nearly had to step in after he and Whis had found out that the beast had been unleashed and The Supreme Guard were already on a similarly dangerous mission. Though, before he could travel to the Sacred Realm of The Kai's, Z-Sword in hand, Shin had informed Whis that Gohan's assistance was not needed, and that mortal warriors had been able to defeat Buu.

 _Mortal_ warriors? He had never thought… was the planet Majin Buu had been imprisoned in Earth? Could it be that his father…? But if that was true, then it didn't make any sense at all! Majin Buu was still alive! Here on Earth! Sitting across from him happily and about to tuck into a ridiculous amount of food even by Gohan's standards. He couldn't risk it. Buu needed to be eliminated. He would need to be destroyed on the spot and he would have to get the hell out of the Satan Mansion and take shelter in a cave somewhere. The halfling would have to be extremely careful, as firing a blast would cause too much destruction, and he would hate for Videl and Mister Satan to get caught in it. That, and it would alert the Z-Fighters to his presence on Earth.

No, he thought, shaking his head. He would paralyse him, phase out, erase him, and leave. It was the only safe way to do it. Yet as the junior Destroyer was mulling over his thoughts, the Majin stopped inhaling his meal, and stared at the young saiyan with beetle black eyes, regarding him curiously.

"Boy strong," he stated, causing Videl and Hercule to look towards them.

"Boy very strong," Buu said again, "Boy play with Buu?"

The teenager stared, observing the talking pink blob. This creature was just like a child! It didn't make sense, but somehow he couldn't depict any dark energy coming from him. To his right, Mister Satan started to panic.

"Er Buu?! Why don't you play later with the strong ones eh?" He gulped, falling over his words, "Beerus is sick you see, he's not strong at all! Why don't you eat your food and you can go and play with them tomorrow eh?"

To Gohan's astonishment, Buu smiled happily, "Okay Mister Satan!"

He blinked, as Majin Buu returned to his meal. He was…different. Certainly not the demon of chaos that he had been warned about. And who were these 'strong ones' Mister Satan was referring to? Alarm bells were ringing in his head, so much so that he stood up abruptly from the table, gaining the other's attention.

"Er, is there a bathroom I could use?" he asked quickly, causing Mister Satan to blink at his sudden outburst.

"Um, of course," he informed him, "The closest one is down the corridor on your left, past the kitchens."

Gohan uttered a small 'thanks' before racing from the room. He found the enormous bathroom in no time at all, and bolted the door behind him, materialising his communication device out of thin air. No sooner had he pressed the button, did his mentor's smiling face appear on the screen.

"Ah Gohan!" Whis beamed, "Don't tell me that you've found out how to turn into a Super Saiyan God already? I must say I'm rather impressed!"

"Tell me everything you know about Majin Buu," the young saiyan cut across him seriously, breathing heavily in an attempt to keep himself calm, "Before I eliminate him."

"Majin Buu?" The Angel blinked, "Whatever for?"

Gohan sighed, and proceeded to tell his master what he had found.

"My my," Whis chuckled when he had finished, "No more than a few hours on Earth and you've ran straight into Majin Buu. You certainly are a magnet for trouble my boy."

"Will you just explain why that pink monstrosity is still alive please?" The teen saiyan said haughtily, "And why he is currently having a cosy dinner with the Satan's as if that's _normal_?!"

"Oh alright," huffed Whis, before the distinct tap of his staff was heard, and a holographic image of the fat Majin appeared right before him in Mister Satan's bathroom.

"Ah yes this is very interesting," Whis' voice echoed around him, "It seems that Majin Buu is not a threat to the Satans, the Earth or anyone else for that matter."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Gohan protested, "He shouldn't even be here in the first place! Didn't The Supreme Kai say that he had been defeated?"

"Well, in a way yes," said Whis, "But it is a little more complicated than that. Majin Buu _was_ defeated, but not this version of the creature."

"I'm confused," he deadpanned.

"Let me show you what I mean," the Angel sighed, before the figure of Buu disappeared and in it's place materialised a short demon-like creature, with similar pink skin. It's eyes were manic, it's sharp teeth bared as it laughed silently to the heavens, it's fists pounding on it's chest in rapid succession.

"What is _that_ thing?!" gaped the teen, the child-like monster was certainly disturbing.

"The true form of Majin Buu," Whis explained, "As you may already know from your avid reading, Perses himself created that monster and set it on the Supreme Kai's themselves. Though despite popular belief, Majin Buu didn't kill them, instead he absorbed their entities. This meant that Buu's original evil soul was soothed and warped by good, the good that you see in this living version of Buu."

Gohan watched with horror, as the images flew around the room, and he watched the manic monster absorb the wounded Kai's, his body changing shape with each absorption until he moulded into the fat Buu that had sat across from him at the dining table.

"After much effort, Buu was captured and sealed in an impregnable prison, buried within the surface of a planet that was still in it's infancy," said Whis, as the unmistakable image of Planet Earth appeared before him.

The teenager couldn't believe it, Perses' greatest weapon had been trapped within the Earth's core all that time. Even when he was still living on it. Things had a very funny way of working out.

"Bibidi, the wizard whom Perses bribed to do his bidding had a son named Babidi, who it seems unleashed Buu of his own accord in order to take control of the universe," his mentor continued, as he watched Buu's escape play out right there in the bathroom. The wizard, who looked more like a flea in his opinion, watched Buu appear with glee.

Gohan's eyes widened, and a pang rippled across his chest as images of his father, Vegeta and Piccolo appeared before him, bloodied and covered in battle filth as they attacked the beast all at once. The rest of the Z-Fighters flashed over the bathroom, the blasts firing from their palms illuminating the tiles in a colourful glow.

"It seems that these mortal warriors who defeated Majin Buu were your father and his friends," said Whis, "Though they had a long fight ahead of them, the goodness in Buu overpowered the bad, and by help of Mister Satan's friendship he was able to expel the evil within."

Another image of the smaller Buu materialised in front of him, as he watched his battle-worn father in all his super saiyan glory backhand the evil imp across a violet sky that no doubt belonged to The Supreme Kai's sacred world.

"It was your father that delivered the final blow," the Angel continued, as the glow of the spirit bomb shone brightly over the bathroom, and the evil entity of Buu's original form disintegrated before his eyes, "Though he honoured Mister Satan's request to keep the good Buu alive. I don't think Prince Vegeta was too pleased about the arrangement, but it seems that Mister Satan has been true to his word and has kept Buu in line so far."

The young saiyan blinked, trying to process all the information as the hologram disappeared into thin air. It was certainly crazy, but nice in a way to think that his father and his friends were still working together to protect the Earth like they always had done. He wondered if the battle with Majin Buu would have gone a lot differently if he was around. If he was completely honest with himself, he didn't think that he would have spared any part of that monster.

"Ah yes," Whis nodded, still gathering information about the event, "It seems that the Earthlings even used the Earth's dragonballs a few months afterwards to wipe everyones memory of Majin Buu, except for those in your little group. Hmm the events must have been quite traumatic for them."

Gohan felt his chest grow tight, a guilty feeling plaguing his stomach. If he had known that Majin Buu had been attacking Earth, then such damage could have easily been avoided he was sure. He certainly would have had the power to put an end to Buu.

"Oh fiddlesticks," his mentor cursed, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"What?" he asked, frowning.

Whis sighed, "Oh it's nothing too bad. It's just that if you were planning on using the dragonballs as a last resort to find out about this Super Saiyan God from then you won't be able to use them for another month in this case. It hasn't quite been a year since they were last used."

"Figures," The teenager groaned, "So you're basically saying either suck it up and ask Vegeta or wait it out for a month?"

"The choice is yours alone," said Whis, causing the halfling to scoff.

"It's not like I even _chose_ to come here, I - hello?" Gohan mustered realising that his communicator had gone blank. "Whis? Helloooooooo?"

 **Knock knock knock.**

He jumped, as there was a loud pounding of a fist on the door behind him.

"Beerus? Are you alright in there?" came Videl's worried tone.

"Just fine!" he called back, banishing his device in an instant.

"Are you sure?" she asked, "I could have sworn that I heard you talking to someone."

"Er, yeah," Gohan mustered weakly, "I er, talk to myself a lot?"

"O-kay," Videl replied a little apphrehensively, before he heard whispers from the other side of the door.

"See? I told you Videl, he's a weirdo!" Mister Satan hissed, "I'm not happy about him staying in your apartment, why don't you let him stay here instead?"

"With _Buu_ running around the place?" she scoffed, "You heard him earlier, he wanted to fight him for some reason! And besides, he'll be sleeping on the sofa. He seems innocent enough, he's just lost and scared."

"Well…" the man mustered reluctantly, "Well alright. I know you can handle yourself sweetheart. But any funny business and you be sure to call me, I'll be round there like a shot and tear that scrawny little punk limb from limb!"

Gohan sighed, resting the back of his head against the doorframe in despair. If he didn't find out a way to get information out of Vegeta without looking too suspicious then this was going to be a very, very long month.

* * *

Although it looked like a small building, the area that Videl lived in seem rather nice. The streets were clean and the pavement below them was framed by large oak trees, the green leaves wavering in the slight breeze. The stars had started to appear in the sky above, though he couldn't see much of them in the middle of the city, what with the polluted air. It was a bit disappointing, though he didn't have time to dwell on the fact, as Videl had quickly decapsulised her jet and was already dragging him down the stairwell that led to her apartment.

The place itself was a lot smaller than he was expecting, though that could have been due to the fact that he was so used to his enormous sleeping quarters back on Beerus' world. Videl's apartment consisted of a well equipped kitchen come living room, which housed a plush sofa and comfy looking armchair that surrounded a fairly sized TV. A bookcase, along with a few paintings and martial arts posters lined the walls, and scented candles that he just knew would tickle his sensitive nose when lit were dotted around the place. The coffee table similarly had books upon it, along with a laptop and a used coffee mug. Several cups and plates were drying on the draining board in the kitchen, and a stack of files and papers were spread out on the kitchen table. He caught sight of a doorway which no doubt led to her bedroom, along with another that he could see housed a bathroom. It was small, yet cosy. Though it was evident that she had not longed moved in, judging by the stacks of boxes next to the doorway, which still had bits of junk sticking out of them.

"WOOF!"

"GAH!" Gohan yelped in surprise, not one to be caught off guard by any means, as he was suddenly bowled over by a large labrador retriever that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The young saiyan cursed himself, as the excitable dog proceeded to slobber all over his face with his wet tongue. He blamed his lack of concentration and jumpy demeanour on his current predicament, for the familiar sights and sounds of Earth were utterly overwhelming his senses.

 _"Bee_!" Videl scolded, grabbing the pup by the collar and hauling him off the poor teen on the floor, "Bee no! Get _off_ him! Sit! I said sit!"

Finally, Bee obeyed, coming to heel at the girl's feet, although his tail continued to wag frantically.

"Sorry about that," Videl cringed, "I don't know what has gotten into him, he doesn't usually like strange men."

"Lucky me," the junior Destroyer drawled, wiping his sodden face with his sleeve and glaring at the mutt that was panting happily beside Videl. She did not mention that she had a dog.

"He might not look like it, but he's still in his puppy phase," she explained, as Gohan begrudgingly got back to his feet, "I'm still training him."

Bee whined, as he started forwards toward the halfling once more, prompting Videl to drag him back again, " _Bee!_ Ugh calm down you daft dog! Just what has gotten into you?"

"Don't worry," she huffed, giving Gohan an apologetic smile, "I'll keep him in my room tonight so that he doesn't bother you."

"It's alright," he replied, though he eyed the labrador uncertainty, he wasn't used to things pouncing on him so enthusiastically.

"Why don't you make yourself comfortable?" said Videl, gesturing to the sofa behind them, "I'll go and see if I've got any baggy clothes you can borrow."

"Thanks," the teen saiyan smiled, as she and Bee disappeared into the confines of her bedroom. He sighed as he sank into the cushions, casting his gaze around the living room. Well at least this set up was better than finding a cave to sleep in for the night, he thought. However, his outlook changed, when he saw the clothes that Videl had provided for him.

And so there he was around ten minutes later, the junior Destroyer of universe seven, sat across from a headstrong girl and her mangey dog on the sofa in her small apartment, dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants that were so short that they didn't even reach his ankles. That was nothing compared to the bright pink t-shirt he was wearing, which was so small that it stretched over his muscular torso, causing the fabric to gather. His entire navel was on show - resembling some kind of crop top, though to his annoyance it only made the glittery unicorn on the front look even more disfigured.

Oh how the mighty had fallen.

"I'm sorry about the shirt," Videl mustered, passing him a pillow and a couple of blankets, though it was evident that she was trying to keep herself from laughing, "It was a birthday present from my friend Erasa, though thankfully it was too big on me. I don't really do pink."

"Funny that, neither do I," Gohan griped, attempting to pull the uncomfortable shirt over his belly button once more before dumping the pillow on the sofa and getting ready to settle down for the night.

Videl snorted in amusement, though her eyes softened slightly as she spoke, "I'm sorry about my dad earlier, he can be a little overprotective."

"It's fine really," he replied, smoothing out the blankets, "I like him, he's a funny bloke."

Though he couldn't help but think but 'little' was an understatement. He had thought that Whis and Beerus were overprotective of him - honestly, he only got lost in the demon realm _one_ time, and it was as if all of HFIL had broken loose.

It took a moment for him to realise that Videl was looking at him as though he was crazy. Attempting to avert the conversation away from the awkwardness of Mister Satan, the halfling drew her attention to the bookcase behind her. The majority of books were on martial arts, and he spotted a large number of trophies and medals displayed on the shelves amongst them.

"So, you're a martial artist?" he asked, nodding towards the trophies.

"Sort of," she replied off-handedly, "I've been training since I was seven."

"With your dad?"

"Yeah, but I don't train so much with him anymore," said Videl, suddenly becoming more interested in the glass of water in her hands.

Gohan raised an eyebrow, he had interrogated a lot of people over the years, and from his experience he could see by her nervous gesture that she was definitely hiding something. Still, whatever it was wasn't any of his concern, he doubted he would see her again after he had gotten hold of Vegeta or the dragonballs.

Wait...

Videl and her father knew about Majin Buu, including his destructive nature from what he could gather from their whispers outside of the bathroom earlier. And Whis had said that the Z-Fighters had wished for the Earthlings memory of Majin Buu to disappear apart from those that were directly involved in the chaos that had unfolded at the point of his release. Did that mean that _Videl_ was there? Her father certainly was. Did she know of his friends and family? Talk to them? Fight alongside them even? She certainly was strong for a regular human that was a given.

His mind was whizzing with possibilities, though before he could ask her any more questions, did the girl let out a big yawn and scratched Bee behind the ears.

"I should be going to bed," Videl sighed, "Goodnight Beerus, sleep well. C'mon Bee."

"Woof!"

"Thanks, goodnight," he mustered weakly, before collapsing on the sofa as soon as her bedroom door closed with a snap.

Gohan groaned, smacking himself in the head. He literally couldn't have bumped into a worse person at his grave.

 _"Well well, you certainly know how to keep things interesting,"_ Z chimed from where he was hidden underneath his garb in the corner.

The teenager glared in the legendary sword's general direction, "Oh give it a rest will you?"

 _"I'm just saying, this could be a good thing you know,"_ said Z indifferently, _"Hey, your family and friends might found who you are and all the horrors of what you've become but at least you get to have some fun out of being here. I know I would if I was you, ho ho!"_

"What are you on about?" Gohan frowned.

 _"The girl of course!"_ he tutted, causing the young saiyan to roll his eyes.

"Get your mind out of the gutter."

 _"Don't play innocent with me sonny boy, I saw the way you were looking at her."_

The halfling spluttered, heat rising to his cheeks, "I was not!"

" _Gohan and Videl, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"_

"Do you _want_ me to destroy you?" he glowered angrily.

" _Ha! I'd like to see you try,"_ The voice scoffed, " _Even if you managed to, what good would that do you?"_

Gohan clicked his tongue in aggravation, "You're infuriating."

" _And you're just kidding yourself."_

 _"Goodnight_ Z," the teenager sighed, pulling off his restrictive unicorn shirt and slipping in between the blankets, rolling over in order to get more comfortable.

" _Yeah yeah, goodnight. Damn teenagers."_

Though Gohan did not close his eyes, instead his gaze was focussed on the small gap in between the living room curtains, from where he could see the twinkling stars above. It was odd, being back on Earth after so much time had passed, though his mind was not focussed on the memories of his youth that he thought would appear. No, instead Z's words seemed to echo in his ears, and as he finally closed his eyes, the image of Videl popped into his mind. Her long lashes fluttering at him as she spoke from across the table back at Mister Satan's mansion, that dangerous glare she had given him back at his grave, the way she playfully rolled her eyes, causing his breath to hitch in his throat. It was a shame that he would have to leave eventually, Videl beheld a beauty that he had never admired so much before, or that had so much effect on him. That, and her stubborn, forceful nature was something that had surprised yet enticed him to no end.

He shook himself mentally, attempting to subdue the butterflies that had suddenly erupted in his stomach. He had a duty to uphold after all, a job, a quest and a possible battle to face. He couldn't afford to get distracted. However, in his heart of hearts he knew that it would take some time to get those blue eyes out of his mind.

* * *

 _5th September, 2018._

* * *

 **Reviews:**

ashlovesdbz: aw thank you so much! good luck with high school! glad youre enjoying this story, haha you should be scared for Gohan! I know I am! ;)

dloold87: yep, Whis is a super dick xD

TheRangerBoy: hope it lived up to your expectations!

Justanius : thank you! hope you enjoyed this chapter!

PhoenixFire100: aw thank you so much!

keyblademeister88: thank you!

.master: thanks!

MadmanJrs: really hoped you liked videl's introduction, glad you think the Buu saga was also not needed. But I threw in a little explanation anyway, as well as showing off a bit more of what Whis can do!

Aaron Leach: thank you :)

EleazarTheUnforgotten: thank you! i hope you liked the swift update!

duskrider: thank you

victor0606 : cheers!

Thomas-The-TMC: yay glad to hear it!

X3runner : thank you so much for your review, it really means a lot when someone voices exactly what I want the readers to get from the story! As for Gohan ageing... because he has chosen to grow up he will continue to age. But dont worry he wont be turning into an old man of destruction - as Beerus certainly isnt at millions of years old. There will be an explanation for this in later chapters, but I dont want to spoil it just yet ;) And as for Vegeta's dance... you may just have to sit tight for his reaction to Beerus. Believe me, there will be one!

Lightningblade49: good observation. I dont see vegeta talking about his heritage to some random kid in the street!

dspendragon125: thanks! hope you enjoyed this one!

777torn777: yeah I had Gohan hide his power so that the z-fighters didnt catch on. And as you can see, seeing the child who had defeated the greatest villian to grace the earth not only win but die infront of his eyes has truly humbled mister satan. I didnt mellow him out completely, I still wanted him to be his goofy, overprotective self for comedic purposes. I hope this has come across in this chapter, and hopefully more so as the story continues. And yes, you are right. They are one down for the ritual... ;)

Massimo samblotti : thank you!

warriorofdark: i hope the little Buu saga snippet helped.

Naite-Laef: aw thank you so much! that means alot!

Patachu: haha im not that mean i didnt leave you hanging long!

Robthekiwi121: XD

Viscides : me too! I'm so excited to get to his family, my intention is not to drag it out TOO much!

dx-1118: BAM. right in there with Videl, thought it was fitting, I hope you enjoyed that! Yes youre right about Champa and that he would be looking for a junior destroyer as well. Seen as Gohan is a little late to the training game because of Perses going awol, by theory Champa's predecessor would already have been training for a few centuries, as they would have to be dead. ive had a few ideas for who this might be, as there is certainly potential for the other universes to meet in this story. However, I haven't decided whether or not to follow the Super timeline completely, as I have stronger ideas in process that need to fit in with Perses. I hope this makes sense! Thank you for your review :)

Guest: sorry to disappoint but I am a GXV shipper!

yunayuu : thank you! Its about to get messier! poor gohan!

LEO LOVER 2016 : well im glad I was able to get this chapter out for you lol! thanks! :)


	10. Legacy of The Delivery Boy

_A/N: Thank you so much for everyone's well wishes and words of kindness. I am so glad you are loving this story so far. This chapter was quite difficult to write as there was a lot to get across and I didn't want it to get boring! I hope I have achieved that! I am working so hard on this story and its so nice and amazing to see that its paying off with such amazing reviews and over 550 followers! I mean wow. I know I say it every time, but it really means a lot, especially when you guys GET when I'm trying to get across with the characters, and most importantly am making you LAUGH! xD Thank you so much everyone, I hope you continue to love this as much as I do. Hopefully the next chapter won't be too long away! ;) ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

 **Legacy of The Delivery Boy**

 **xxxx**

Peace and quiet.

The mere notion had been lost on him for a very long time. For he was always ready for the next adventure, barely finishing one before he was on to the next. Everyday he was training relentlessly, pushing his body to reach new heights with no time for rest. He faced death defying battles, one after the other, ready should the next one to appear on the horizon needed his help. Even sleeping in had become a distant memory…

 _"You can sleep when you're a God!" Lord Beerus had told him once when he had whined about the continuous early mornings. "Or dead!"_

 _"But I_ ** _am_** _dead," a fifteen year old Gohan huffed with a roll of his eyes from where he was wrapped in his bed linen like a cocoon._

 _"I mean non-existent!" The God of Destruction had snapped from the bottom of the winding staircase, "Which you will become if you don't drag that sarcastic pubescent behind of yours out of that cesspool you call a bedchamber!"_

Whether it be a deity shouting in his face or an abundance of exploding sand-timers that did the trick, Son Gohan had long forgotten what it was like to rise from dreamland naturally. The morning sunlight tickled his handsome face as it shone through the curtains, the sound of chirping birds drifting in through the open window. He sighed in contentment, relishing in the peace that his first morning on Earth had brought him.

Though sadly, it didn't last.

"WOOF!"

"ARGH!" The teenager cried, as the labrador landed heavily on his stomach, proceeding to lick his face for all it was worth.

"Geroff!" Gohan growled, trying to push the excitable creature off him as gently as he could.

"Bee! Get _down_! Sit!" he tried again, but it was no use.

With a sigh, the young saiyan snapped his fingers so that the dog levitated off his torso and flew to the other side of the room, where he landed on the armchair across from him with a loud yelp. He wasn't hurt by any means, Gohan had been particularly careful about that. Though it had certainly startled the lovable pup, who had immediately quietened down, his tail no longer wagging.

"Look, it's nothing personal," said Gohan, sitting upright, "It's just that your breath is just as bad as Beerus' in the morning."

Bee whined, though the resumed wagging of his tail told the teen that he hadn't upset him too much.

"Are you talking to yourself again?"

He looked up suddenly, as Videl stepped into the room, sipping a mug of coffee. Good timing, he reasoned, as if she was a millisecond earlier he would have had to explain how her dog had managed to fly himself across the room.

"No," he grinned back, the playful look she was giving him causing the butterflies in his stomach to attack, "Bee and I are bonding."

"Woof! Woof!"

The girl rolled her eyes in amusement, "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine," the young saiyan lied. In all honesty it was the worst nights sleep he'd had in a long time, Videl's sofa was a definite downgrade compared to his comfy double bed on Beerus' world. His back ached from the uncomfortable position he'd slept in, and his legs cramped from where he'd had them scrunched up all night due to the fact that he was too tall to stretch out completely.

"Good," she smiled back, before looking down at her wristwatch, "Oh shit, I'm going to be late for work at this rate. Let's get going Bee."

"Work?" the halfling quirked, as the labrador obediently jumped down from the sofa and bounded over to the front door, awaiting his master's next command.

It was only then did Gohan get a good look at what she was wearing, too focussed on those distracting eyes of hers. She had mentioned that she worked for the police when she had brushed off her father's worrying yesterday, and her attire most certainly confirmed it. The Satan girl was wearing a deep blue police uniform, complete with a crisp white shirt and black tie. Her long raven hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, in order to fit the matching blue hat upon her head. The shiny gold badge on her chest read _OSCPD_ which Gohan guessed translated to Orange Star City Police Department. A chunky black belt held several holsters in which guns and handcuffs were nestled inside, a pair of black army boots completed her attire, along with fingerless gloves. The teenager couldn't help but notice how her uniform clung to her figure in all the right places, and especially how tight those trousers were as she bent over to pick up her rucksack.

Swallowing the lump that had appeared in his throat, he felt the sudden need for a freezing cold shower.

 _"Wowee! There's nothing like a woman in uniform!"_

Though before Gohan could offer a retort to the perverted relic, he felt a disturbance in the air around him. Whirling around faster than lightening, the young Destroyer caught Videl's keys right before they hit him in the face.

"Nice catch…" Videl blinked in shock from where she was standing in the doorway, grasping tightly onto Bee who was now on a lead. Evidently, she had been calling his name for quite some time.

"Quick reflexes!" he laughed, putting his hand behind his head in a nervous gesture.

"I should think so too, you seemed really out of it for a second there, did you not hear me talking?" she replied, her brow furrowing slightly as he bashfully shook his head, "I was just saying that you can lock up after me, you seem innocent enough. I mean, you haven't robbed me during the night."

He grinned at her, as she continued, "Help yourself to breakfast, you can have a shower if you like."

"Thanks," Gohan yawned, giving a good stretch and getting up from the sofa, the blankets falling off him, "I think I'll have a shower before breakfast, where did you say your towels were again?"

He was confused when she didn't answer, and even more so to find that her mouth was hanging open, her blue eyes fixated to his exposed chest. The teen saiyan felt heat rise to his cheeks, he had forgotten for a moment that he wasn't living on a planet with two male deities anymore, especially ones that had seen him starkers numerous times when his clothes were torn or burnt off completely during battles. In hindsight, perhaps walking around in his boxers in front of a girl he had only met yesterday wasn't the most appropriate thing to do. Though in his defence, she shouldn't have given him such tight clothes to sleep in, else he wouldn't have had to strip off during the night for want of not suffocating.

Thankfully, Videl was able to find her voice before he could, "I-In the airing cupboard. Just help yourself."

"Thanks, I'll get right on that," he said in embarrassment, walking towards the bathroom, when she stopped him.

"Oh and why don't you go and explore the city today? It might help to jog your memory," she said with a wry smile, her eyes still undressing him - though there was very little to undress at this point, "I'll be back around six anyway."

"Alright," he laughed nervously, "I'll see you in a little while!"

Her grin widened, before she disappeared over the threshold and snapped the door shut.

"In a little while?" Gohan berated himself, hitting his head off the door frame of the bathroom and causing a crack to appear in the wood, "What the hell was that Gohan? You idiot!"

 _"Heh, smooth."_

* * *

Mental was the only word he could think of to describe it. Utterly, completely mental.

It wasn't too bad on the city outskirts, for Gohan could see that not much had changed in the years since he had been dead. Of course, clothing and hair styles had changed, vehicles and technology had upgraded and there were more skyscrapers dotted about the place - it was a given, some things were bound to move on in nearly a decade.

He was horrified to find however, that _people_ certainly didn't move on, especially fanatics. And simply hadn't moved on from the battle that had quite literally shook the planet eight years ago. He didn't know whether it was because the anniversary of The Cell Games was tomorrow or if the Earthlings' obsession was this great twenty-four seven. Either way it was unnerving, he thought, as he stared disbelievingly at the golden haired action figure clutched in his palm, clad in it's very own purple gi and white cape.

At first he had caught sight of a small child wearing a t-shirt with a golden haired caricature emblazoned onto the torso. He brushed it off, it could have been anything after all, some sort of trending cartoon as it were. However, he then saw another, then another and then _another_ one of those blasted t-shirts. Children, adults, babies - even somebody's cat was wearing a t-shirt which celebrated the cartoon depiction of the eleven year old saviour of Earth. The young saiyan had started to sweat, and instead rounded the corner onto the street that housed the main shopping district, where to his horror only made it a hundred times worse. At first he saw the billboard. The giant _fucking_ billboard with his face on in all his super saiyan glory which read ' _Celebrate the Life of Son Gohan, The Golden Boy Wonder, Saviour of Earth!'_

Golden Boy Wonder? He had snorted, was that seriously the best that they could come up with? Evidently it was, and Gohan had spent the last hour or so walking around the city, similarly horrified by what he found. More billboards, posters, life-sized cardboard cut outs, mugs, coasters, clothing, lunch boxes, cereals, energy drinks and even a comic book series, all dedicated to him, the boy that had defeated Cell. He didn't even want to think about the number of children he saw dressed in his replica gi as he walked the streets.

The teenager sighed in distain, glaring at the offending action figure before putting in back on the shelf. How could his mother and father have even allowed this to happen? Though he reasoned that they might not have had much of a say in the matter. The Earthlings couldn't just forget about a little kid saving the Earth so readily, and the fact that he had died in the fight had probably only added to the mania. Still, Gohan wasn't too happy about it, and it made him feel extremely uncomfortable. It was as if the people of Earth were admiring him as some sort of martyr, which he most certainly wasn't.

Though as he was contemplating destroying the merchandise shop he was standing in, which seemed to be the mass producer of this nightmare, he felt a slight tug on the trouser leg of his sweatpants.

"S'cuse me Mister, can you pass me one of those dolls please?"

It was a little girl, around four or five years old by his reckoning. She was dressed in a little purple dress with the symbol for 'peace' on the front and green dolly shoes, her wispy blonde hair falling about her face as she looked up at the young saiyan with wide dark eyes.

"It's not a _doll_ , it's an action figure," he replied with a low growl, finding himself defending the offensive toy and folding his arms across his chest, "I refuse to be in the same league as a little girl's damned barbie."

"Huh?" the girl blinked, causing Gohan to sigh.

"Why do you even want one anyway?" he spouted in annoyance, "he's nothing that special." _He nearly got the Earth destroyed, not saved it_ , he added in his head.

However, his words seemed to anger the child, as she gave him the coldest glare he had ever seen on a little girl before.

"He's a hero!" she positively snarled, "My daddy told me so himself!"

"Alright kid calm down!" Gohan mustered, holding his hands up in defence as her outburst caught the attention of several nearby customers, "I was only joking."

"Well it wasn't very funny," she huffed, turning away from him, "You're mean."

"Scathing," the halfling retorted with a roll of his eyes, "As if I haven't been called _mean_ before."

 _"Wow you're really good with kids. No really, it's a wonder why people don't ask you to babysit more often."_

"She started it," the teenager hissed.

 _"Real mature,"_ scoffed Z.

The ancient relic was concealed much like his halo, though it rested on his back. He could have just banished it for safe keeping, though what with being back on Earth with no one knowing who he really was he felt somewhat comforted about having it close by. Though he was quickly starting to regret his decision.

"Why are you whispering to yourself?" asked the girl suddenly, jumping him out of his thoughts.

He frowned, "Why are you so nosy?"

To his surprise, the little blonde-haired imp giggled, "You're funny."

"I like unicorns," she said again, her eyes practically sparkling up at him.

"Good for you," said Gohan indifferently.

"Do you like unicorns?" she asked again.

"No."

"Then why are you wearing a unicorn shirt?"

Gohan closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath for want of not destroying the observant little brat on the spot. He'd had a rather testing twenty-four hours after all, it was only natural for him to be agitated. Still, he would need to keep his temper in check, it was quite unusual for him to think about destroying something so many times in one morning.

"Look little girl, where are your parents?" he griped, "I'm sure they're looking for you."

"Probably," she shrugged, "Mummy was looking at some pretty clothes across the road but I got bored so I thought I'd come and look at the shiny golden shop."

The young saiyan sighed to himself, a lost child on his hands was all he needed.

"But don't worry Mister," she told him proudly, lifting her chin in the air, "I can handle myself - look!"

The teenager quirked an eyebrow, as the little girl thrust her arms forwards in a series of rapid punches. However, she was a bit too enthusiastic for her own good as one of her fists accidentally collided with the display in front of them, causing the glass to shatter and the metal encasing to groan and twist in on itself before the whole lot collapsed in a heap, merchandise and all.

"Whoops," the girl squeaked, biting her lip as though she was about to cry.

Gohan gaped, as the dust from the destruction lifted into the air. This was certainly not a normal human child.

"Oi!" the burly shopkeeper sounded from behind the counter, as all eyes were suddenly upon them, "You'd better pay for that mess you ruffians! Stupid punk kids! What's the meaning of this-?!"

The man thundered towards them with a furious expression, his face reddening with every step as he continued to rant. Though Gohan wasn't listening, as something was clearly amiss. Everyone was clearly too distracted by the unfolding scene in the middle of the shop to notice. Though the junior Destroyer's training had taught him many things, including how to recognise a sudden shift in the air, the way the tension would grip hold of the particles as if slowing everything down for but a moment. The calm before the storm.

He felt it so suddenly that there was barely time to react, or warn the shopkeeper who was spitting profusely as he shouted in their general direction. There was a split second of complete silence as the man paused to take another breath, when it happened. The moment came in the sound of an explosion from outside, a whistle of splinters from a breaking window frame, a suffocating smell of powder. Gohan reacted instantaneously, grabbing the shop keeper and little girl by the waist and throwing them to the ground. The girl screamed, as the onslaught of sound reached their ears, though the halfling had unleashed a protective shield around the entire complex to protect them from the aftershock.

The young saiyan got to his feet with an angered growl, his onyx eyes sweeping the surrounding area as he let his shield down. It was utter pandemonium, as the occupants of the shop were suddenly in uproar, loud screams reached his ears and several bangs and scrapes could be heard as people scurried around in panic. There was a commotion outside, accompanied by blood curdling screams. The overwhelming smell of petrol fumes reached his nostrils, telling him that a car bomb was no doubt the source of the explosion. It was difficult to tell through the thick black smoke, but he was positive that no one was injured. He had certainly reacted quick enough. Despite this, it was utter chaos. He could hear the little girl whimpering from behind him, though judging by her Ki she wasn't by any means hurt, just scared. However, he didn't get a chance to offer any words of comfort, as the smoke began to clear, revealing several figures dressed head to toe in black with rubber masks hiding their faces.

"Alright listen up!" One brawny brute shouted, raising a large pistol in the air and tapping the register, "Put the money in the bag and no one gets hurt!"

Gohan's jaw dropped as the thieves stepped into the light, not quite believing his eyes. He blinked, and blinked again, as the rubber masks they were wearing depicted none other than cheap renditions of the Z-Fighters. Vegeta, Krillin, Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha, the future Trunks and to his horror his _father_ all stood before him, guns in hand, and barking orders at around a dozen terrified shoppers whom they had forced to the ground.

He knew that bumping into his family and friends might be inevitable whilst he was on Earth, but this was just ridiculous.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" A rather deformed Piccolo spouted, tapping his gun on the counter once more as a sobbing shop assistant fumbled in her attempt to open the till, "Get a move on bitch, we haven't got all day!"

"Yeh," an overweight, less articulate Vegeta griped, "If I even gerra whiff tha' use lot called the fuzz then yeh'll be findin' a bullet in yeh noggin'!"

In all honesty, Gohan would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious.

The closest gang member to them, Yamcha, snickered as the crowd began to whimper, "This is going to be some haul. What with the amount of money people spend in the run up to the anniversary, were going to be living like kings from now on!"

"Quit your jabberin'," Piccolo growled, grabbing fistfuls of money and aggressively shoving them in the sack that a more orange-haired super saiyan Goku was holding out for him, "It ain't over yet, we've still got the merch shop in East City to do over."

"Aw why did you have to go and give away the game for?" griped Trunks, his sealed mouth unmoving as he aimed his gun towards the quivering customers, "Now we're going to have to make sure they don't go running their mouths to the police."

"I wouldn't worry about that," Tien chuckled sadistically, pulling a dagger out of his jacket. He had one eye instead of three. "It'll be hard for them to grass on us with no tongues."

The young saiyan sighed, and prepared himself to step in when an abrupt shout sounded next to him.

"You leave them alone you big bully!" the little girl growled, hot tears in her eyes as she balled her hands up into fists.

At the sight of the brave youngster standing fiercely before them, the gang members shared a look before roaring with laughter.

"Ooh well what do you know boys?" Yamcha snickered, glowering at the child as he approached her, "A volunteer!"

This only made the brutes laugh harder, as the imposter continued, "Why don't you run along and play with your dollies little girl, before you get what's comin' to you."

"I'm not scared of you!" she cried, lifting her chin in defiance.

"Is that so?" said Yamcha with a sadistic smile as he leered towards her, "Well you should be you little blighter-"

 **WHAM!**

Gohan's eyes widened, as the thug dropped to his knees with a howl of pain, clutching himself between the legs in agony. The girl's outstretched knee came back to rest, and she glared at the man on the ground as if daring him to make another move.

"You b-brat!" Yamcha's voice shook, before another wave of pain hit him and he began to sob.

At once, the rest of the gang surrounded the girl, and the fake Vegeta pointed a rather hefty machine gun towards her, his flame like hair twisted and saggy due to the awful quality of the rubber. It even flopped about his head as he spoke.

"Yeh've got guts girly," he snarled menacingly, as the crowd around them gasped with horror, some of them calling out to them to spare the girl, "Allow me to show them to yeh."

Though to the man's surprise, he couldn't move, as in a flash a hand had wrapped around his wrist stopping him in his tracks. He blinked up at the teenager who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, he didn't even see him move!

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Gohan warned, his onyx eyes harding, his grip unwavering, as though he held the man's arm in a vice.

"Oh yeah pretty boy?" Vegeta growled, glaring at the tightly dressed young man, "And just what are you gonna do abou' it-?"

Though the words quickly died on his tongue, and the thug suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of impending doom, as a rather sadistic smirk crept over the teenager's lips.

* * *

 **Orange Star City Police Station, Orange Star City - One Hour Earlier**

 _'Data not found.'_

She frowned in confusion, tapping her fingers on the desk impatiently.

They say that curiosity killed the cat, but Videl Satan was certainly no pussy cat. The young woman was well known by her family and friends for her inquisitive outlook and stubborn attitude, after all, the events surrounding The Cell Games had always left Videl questioning the way that she perceived the world.

Life had always been fairly simple up until then. Sure, her mother had died of an aggressive heart virus when she was nine years old which only intensified her fathers protectiveness over her, as well as fuelled his obsessive desire to be the strongest under the heavens. But what was life without a bit of tragedy? Looking back, maybe her father thought that by gaining such strength, that he would be indestructable to things like diseases that had took her mother away from them. He had explained to Videl that all of his nights spent training and away from her would be worth it, that he would win The Twenty-Fourth World Martial Arts Tournament and she would never want for anything again. True to his word, he won, and Videl herself was proclaimed champion of the junior division of the WMAT. But alas, all the fame and fortune from winning had gone to her father's head, and he tried to fill the gaping whole left by Miguel Satan with money, big houses, flashy cars, adoring fans, women and booze.

It was no wonder that the headstrong girl had taken it upon herself to watch The Cell Games from the sidelines. It would have been the most time that she had spent with her father in months. Though neither she nor her father knew what he was up against, and Videl had watched with utter horror and disbelief as her father, the strongest man under the heavens, was brutally knocked out of the ring with a single slap. The small feeling of hope and relief that began to fill her heart when she found out that he was still alive was soon stifled as the blonde-haired man stepped into the ring.

It was frightening, as though living in a nightmare, as she came to realise that these people weren't normal. The man and Cell were moving so fast that it was as though they disappeared into thin air, though the tremors that shook the Earth was a sure sign that a tremendous battle was waging above her. Then suddenly, it was over, and Videl couldn't believe that a boy around her own age had taken the man's place. It had actually angered her, when the idiotic news reporter had dubbed him a delivery boy. No, delivery boys did not wear a fighting gi, and from the look in his eyes Videl knew he wasn't about to ask Cell about pizza toppings. At first she thought that the man must have been crazy, who would willingly send their son to fight such a monster?!

But then it became all too clear. The boy was even _stronger_ than the man. Stronger than Cell himself even, as she watched him dominate the evil bug to within an inch of his life. And then Cell quite rightly panicked. Videl remembered how the boy's gut wrenching screams rocked her entire being as he called out for his father, as he and Cell vanished from the realm of the living forever. Though the monster was desperate and unforgiving, and he returned to Earth with a vengeance. Now, the young Videl could not sense power levels, but she could feel _that_. The overwhelming presence of the vindictive brute whose cruel fuchsia homed in on her naively hiding behind a bolder - as if that would shield her - and aimed a white hot blast towards her.

And then _he_ was there, his strong but gentle embrace shielding her from the blast that was about to send her to the grave. He was a bundle of nerves and heart and tears and blood, that came speeding towards her without question or hesitation, saving her life and turning it upside down in that one moment. Videl couldn't believe her eyes, as she saw him in all his grandeur up close. It was as though he was on fire and being electrocuted all at the same time, his emerald eyes as hard as steel. Those eyes, they told so much. Guilt, regret, fear, loss, determination, pride, duty, honour. But then, through the hardened mask she saw a softness, a gentleness about the boy who gave her a goofy smile as she managed to find her voice and breathe out a 'thank you'. Though it was gone with the moment, and so was he. Cell had taken his life, but not before Gohan had summoned the last of his strength to take him to Otherworld with him.

Her father had held her tightly that night, and refused to let her out of his sight for about a fortnight after they had watched the young saviour of Earth die right before their eyes. To her surprise Hercule had stifled all rumours that it was _he_ that had defeated Cell, though it took a while for the Earth to truly believe that a little boy had saved them all, instead of the Champ. Soon after, Z-TV released a documentary of The Cell Games, which had told the tale and had similarly researched the origins of this Son Gohan. His family and friends, though well-known martial artists themselves, had chosen to abstain from commenting on the short film, and as such had distanced themselves from the spotlight. Though that didn't deter the world from paying their respects to the young boy and even them, marking the site where he had died with a grave. Slowly but surely, and much to Gohan's families distain, what began as small tributes evolved into an all out marketing craze. The Earthlings had gone Son Gohan mad, which peaked every time the anniversary of The Cell Games rolled around, and turned into an all out festival.

Videl had enjoyed the anniversaries at first, and had celebrated with the rest of the world. Life had seemingly gone back to normal, though she could never forget about the boy who had saved her life, and in turn given his. That, coupled with the fact that she had seen powers like no other had fuelled her desire to protect to world that Son Gohan had left behind, she felt as though she owed it to him. At the time, her best friends Erasa and Sharpener had teased her about her obsession with the golden haired preteen and suggested that all of her late night training sessions was merely an excuse to practice snogging her pillow should the young warrior suddenly reappear, just like all those slaughtered by Cell had mysteriously come back to life.

Oh yes, Videl wasn't stupid, she knew that there was something more out there, that lay beyond her mundane life, outside the imposing walls of her high school, far out of reach of her peaceful little bubble. She had seen for herself that there were beings out there of unfathomable power, entities capable of bringing the dead back to life, acting powers of the universe that she couldn't quite comprehend. Meeting the Z-Fighters at the next tournament only confirmed her suspicions. They were quite surprised when the curious teen had introduced herself as the little girl that their friend had saved at The Cell Games. After meeting Gohan's family and friends, her life had changed forever, and now she was well aquatinted with a world full of aliens, magic, warriors and more. She had stared death straight in the face in the form of Majin Buu, been to Otherworld and back again, and come out the other side. She'd thought she had seen it all, overcome every challenge she had ever faced.

And then she met Beerus.

There was no doubt that he was a strange young man, although it could be argued that Videl was even stranger, what with taking in a lost boy with amnesia, a weird name and even weirder clothes. But the Satan girl had never cared what other people thought of her, had never succumbed to the conformist society that she was often faced with in high school. Videl, being the daughter of the world champ, had been in the spotlight since before The Cell Games and as such much was expected of her. She quickly grew sick and tired of the rules and games of the school yard, fed up with the sycophants that followed her just for the recognition. She was ridiculed and taunted of course, when she stuck two fingers up to the world and decided to do things her way. She turned down invitations to swanky parties, dumped boyfriends who were only with her for fame, and cut off friendships that were nothing but lies and fake smiles. But Videl didn't care, she needed nobody but her fists, her father and her two best friends after all. She had followed her dreams, graduated from high school and got a job as a police officer, something she was immensely proud of herself for.

Her job as an officer had challenged her in new ways, and despite only passing her exams last year, she was quickly working her way up in the department. Which was why no one minded or questioned her when she asked her superior for access to the main database frame, whereby she could analyse the record of every single person registered on the planet.

It was the only logical place to start looking, she had thought to herself as she sat herself at her desk, Bee snuggled up by her feet on the floor. Though as she set up her computer she cursed under her breath, realising that she should have asked Beerus his last name. It would make it a lot easier to find an address after all. Still, she had shrugged, just how many people were called Beerus anyway? It was certainly an unusual name.

However, to her frustration and annoyance, there was nothing.

 _'Data not found.'_

Videl's blue eyes narrowed at the screen, data not found? It didn't make any sense. She knew for a fact that the database had been updated not long ago, yet there seemed to be no one called Beerus on the entire planet.

Not one to be defeated, the determined Satan began to type in the teen's description. She sighed heavily, the results were still inconclusive, there were thousands of people in the world who were around six foot with dark eyes and dark hair. Why hadn't Beerus told her his last name? Was his amnesia that bad that he didn't remember? She frowned, why was he even let out of the hospital if that was the case? Come to think of it, there weren't any hospitals for miles near Son Gohan's grave! How did he even get there? He couldn't have walked surely! The terrain was far too treacherous.

Videl sighed again, closing off the database and scratching a snoring Bee behind the ears. Call it a gut feeling, but something didn't add up. Maybe Krillin had better access to the databases than she did? He had been an officer much longer than her after all, albeit in South City, maybe he could help.

" _Still nothing?_ "

She blinked, turning to her phone with an apologetic smile. She had forgotten that she was in the middle of a video call.

"Nope, nothing, nadda," Videl replied in annoyance.

" _I still cannot believe you took in some random boy off the street!"_ Erasa said disbelievingly, shaking her head. Like her, she was at work at her office job, dressed in a smart yet feminine two piece suit, the rest of her pristine office could be seen from where she had placed her device on her desk. _"And you're telling me that he's sleeping on your sofa?!"_

Sharpener was framed next to her on the screen. Being a model he didn't work nine to five, and as such was currently lounging on his bed in his dressing gown, a towel wrapped around his head as he filed his nails.

Their video chats were a common weekly occurrence, as it was rare that they all had time to meet up what with their busy schedules since leaving school.

 _"Come on E,"_ he said with a roll of his eyes, _"You know Videl wouldn't do that if she didn't have an ulterior motive."_

Erasa gasped suddenly, " _Ooh is he hot?_ "

Videl felt heat rise in her cheeks immediately, as she attempted to get the image out of her mind of the adonis standing in the middle of her living room.

"That's not the point," she stated awkwardly, clearing her throat, "He's got amnesia, I'm only trying to help him."

" _So he **is** that good looking!" _The blonde haired girl practically squealed, " _Oh my Kami, you just_ _have_ _to get a picture of him!_ "

"I am _not_ getting a picture of him for you to gawk at!" Videl hissed, "That's weird stalker behaviour!"

" _And running a background check on him isn't?"_ Sharpener scoffed, rolling on his belly to get closer to the camera.

"For your information Sharpie I was seeing if he had an address so that he could get back to his family," she positively glared at the boy, "But there's nothing! It's like he doesn't even exist!"

 _"Knew it,"_ he sighed dramatically, _"It's been so long since she's had a boyfriend that she's started hallucinating."_

"I am not!" Videl retorted hotly, as Erasa snorted with laughter, "Believe me, he's real. But I think he's forgotten what his real name is. That, or he's hiding something."

 _"Honestly Videl,"_ the girl said in an exasperated tone, " _Must you be so sceptical of every guy that you come across?"_

"You're joking right?" she retorted, "Men are all the same. They think no means yes and get lost means 'take me I'm yours'."

" _Amen sister,"_ said Sharpener.

"Not to mention that every boy I've ever dated has only been with me for fame and fortune," she continued haughtily.

" _Poor you,"_ Sharpener spouted sarcastically, " _Ms I-have-too-many-men-fawning-all-over-me-and-my-Z-list-celebrity-status Satan."_

 _"Oh shut up Sharpener,"_ Erasa scolded, _"You know that Barry Khan only went out on a date with her to get close to Mister Satan!"_

"Ugh don't remind me," Videl shuddered, the thought of that pompous two-bit actor was enough to make her skin crawl. He had spent the entire date talking about himself, before trying to stick his tongue down her throat. Though all he had gotten in return was the check and a broken nose, as Videl had walked out straight afterwards without a word. And he _still_ wouldn't stop sending her flowers.

"You know, for once it would be nice to meet someone who was more interested in me than my dad or his money," she sighed, causing her friends to look towards her in sympathy.

" _Don't worry Vi,"_ said Erasa with a kind smile, " _You said it yourself. You've got your career to focus on. You're too busy being fierce and fighting crime than to deal with pigheaded boys!"_

"Yeah you're right," she grinned back, "Thanks E."

 _"And besides,"_ quirked Sharpener, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, " _If you play your cards right then mystery boy might just graduate from the sofa to the bedroom, if you catch my drift."_

The Satan girl flushed, opening her mouth in an angry retort when her walkie talkie sounded and a serious voice crackled through the speaker.

 _"Cccrrk …. Attention all available officers! Cccrrk…There has been reports of an explosion in the main shopping precinct! Cccrrk…Casualties unknown …Ccrrk… The Red Shark Gang are thought to be behind the attack…Cccrrk… I repeat, all available officers report to the City Centre immediately! Ccrrk!"_

"Shit," Videl swore, leaping up from her seat and gaining the attention of Bee, who jumped up beside her immediately, "Sorry you two, duty calls!"

" _Be careful!"_ Her friends chorused, their eyes widening before she switched off her phone and bolted from the room.

It didn't take her long to reach the main shopping district, she had decided to run with Bee rather than drive or fly, as the police station was already situated in the city centre. Though when she arrived it was utter pandemonium. Crowds of people were running away from the main street that ran through the middle of the city, clouds of smoke filled the air and there was a glow of amber fire casting shadows over the high rising buildings. The sound of firing bullets filled the air, and Videl wasted no time in running towards the epicentre, where an all out shoot out was taking place between the police and members of The Red Shark Gang.

The gutsy teen leapt in between them without hesitation, disarming the biggest brute with a flying kick, causing the firearm to clatter to the floor. The man growled, launching at her before he quickly fell to the ground in an unconscious heap, curtesy of her outstretched fist. The rest of his comrades followed suit, though Videl was more than ready, whirling around and delivering a fast uppercut to one of the thug's jaw, causing him to crash straight into another, knocking them both out on impact. Bee was right behind her, growling as he ran another criminal down before his jaw locked around his arm and he was able to drag him kicking and screaming to the ground.

"You're going to have try do better than that," She smirked, as the cool steel of a gun pressed against her temple, and the sound of ragged breathing reached her ears.

In a flash, the headstrong girl backhanded the gang member, parrying the gun out of harms way where it fired into a nearby building. The man howled in pain, holding his broken nose as blood poured unforgivingly down his face. He stumbled and fell backwards, as Videl pressed her boot into his chest so that he couldn't move.

"Alright tubby," she snarled at the large brute, as her fellow officers clapped and cheered behind her, "Where's the rest of the Sharks? I know there's more of you."

Though before he could muster a pained answer, did her walkie talkie sound from her belt.

 _"Cccrk… we have a hostage situation… Ccrrk… at the Golden Boy merchandise shop…Cccrrk… thieves are armed and dangerous… requesting back up! Ccrrk!"_

With an angered growl, Videl quickly handcuffed the man below her feet, before calling Bee to heel. She ignored her colleagues who were shouting after her, warning the girl that it was too dangerous. She huffed as she left them to deal with arresting the rest of the thugs, sprinting down the street with the excitable labrador in tow, did they not know her well enough by now?

Skidding to a halt as the merch shop came into view, the teenager swiftly analysed the situation. Car bomb, detonated, though surprisingly no casualties. This was used as a distraction to get inside, and sending the rest of the gang further up the street to infiltrate police officers ensured that they could get away with the money. There were three police cars, and ten officers waiting on the outside. Barricades were up, ambulances standing by. She could see several shadows moving inside the shop, though with the blackened and shattered windows caused by the explosion, it was difficult to tell just how many hostages and gang members were inside.

"Videl!"

She whirled around at the sound of her name, and was surprised to see a beautiful blonde woman running up to her.

"Eighteen?" she blinked, as she realised her friend's icy blue eyes were widened in panic, "What are you doing here?"

"Shopping," Eighteen replied quickly, "But that doesn't matter, Marron is in there!"

Videl's mouth dropped open in shock, her gaze drifting to the half destroyed _Golden Boy Merch_ sign, "Marron?!"

"I thought she was right next to me!" the woman explained, "She must have wondered off. I was looking for her but then the explosion happened and there was people everywhere -!"

"It's ok," said Videl, swallowing her fear. She knew that Eighteen was blaming herself, but it wasn't her fault that the android couldn't sense Ki, Dr Gero had not equipped her with the sensors to harness that ability. She felt her helplessness, as she had only just gotten the knack of it herself.

"I can sense her, she's fine," the girl continued, causing the android to sigh in relief, "Now what do you say we go and bust some heads open?"

Eighteen raised an eyebrow in amusement, "I knew there was a reason I've always liked you."

"Lets go!" Videl cried, ignoring the exasperated shouts of the officers as she and Eighteen leapt into action, jumping over the police cars that closed off the road to the public. They were ready to fight that was a given, no one threatened little Marron and got away with it.

Though just as they reached the other side of the pavement, the door opened, and out stepped around a dozen patrons who looked rather shook up, but uninjured and very much alive. They were met by cheers by the small crowd outside, and taken safely beyond the barricades to receive medical attention. Videl and Eighteen shared a confused glance, where was the gang? And Marron?

Without a moment to loose, and determination in her eyes, Videl crossed the splintered and damaged threshold, her gun raised ready to threaten the gang into submission, Bee hot on her heels. However, her gun immediately came to rest by her side at the sight that greeted her. Her jaw dropped, her eyes widened as the rest of The Red Shark Gang lay unconscious at her feet, a brute in a cheap Vegeta mask lying face down with a gun painfully sticking out of a rather intimate place.

"You just had to ask didn't you?" a young man said with mild annoyance, standing in the middle of the devastation, though his arms were folded triumphantly across his chest.

"Beerus?" Videl quirked disbelievingly, her suspicions that he was hiding something only growing when the teenager jumped, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"V-Videl?" he practically squeaked, his onyx eyes darting about him, "I, uh -"

"What happened?" she demanded, though her eyes were still widened in shock.

Though before he could answer, Eighteen rushed forwards, gathering Marron into her arms and holding her tightly to her bosom.

"Oh Marron!" she cried, nuzzling her nose with hers and causing her to giggle, "Are you alright?"

Videl eyed Beerus with a frown, who seemed to have let out an odd squawking sound at the sight, his jaw practically on the floor. How strange…

"I'm fine Mummy," said Marron happily, "Mister unicorn man protected me!"

At once, the two women looked at the teen beside them, who seemed to sweat under their penetrative stare.

"Oh really now?" said Videl, her eyes narrowing.

"Well," Beerus gulped, "All I did was shout at them a bit. The fumes from the car bomb must have caused them to pass out… we didn't get that close to it so I suppose me and Marron here must have been okay."

The Satan girl continued to stare, though there was something in his explanation that she couldn't help but believe. There didn't seem to be a mark on the unconscious gang members, except…

"How did that gun get _there_ then?" Videl pointed at the fake Vegeta, giving Beerus a disbelieving look.

He shrugged, "Must have fell on it."

She glared at him, before turning to the little girl in Eighteen's arms, "Is that true Marron?"

"I didn't see anything," Marron replied, "Mister Unicorn was shouting at them and then they all fell down!"

Suspicious, she thought.

"Well thanks for looking after my daughter," said Eighteen, though her features remained as stoic as ever, "Whoever you are."

"This is Beerus," Videl explained, "We met yesterday, he's got amnesia. I'm trying to help him get back to his family so he's staying with me for a while."

The android nodded simply, her icy blue eyes surveying him, as he spoke with a charming smile.

"Yeah I was just exploring the city to see if it triggered my memory when I ran into your daughter," said Beerus, "She's a firecracker by the way, got one of them right in the nuts before they passed out."

A ghost of a smile played on her lips before she turned to Videl, "Thanks for your help Videl, we'd better going before Krillin has an anreyiseum. You know how my dear husband can be."

The girl laughed, though she couldn't help but notice how Beerus' jaw dropped again, "Good to see you Eighteen, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"You got it," she replied, as Marron tugged on her sleeve.

"But Mummy, I wanted a Wonder Boy toy!"

Eighteen shook her head, making their way out of the shop, "Maybe another time kiddo, you know how Aunt Chi-Chi feels about those."

"You're right, I don't want to make Auntie Chi-Chi sad," sighed the girl, before turning around to wave behind her, "Bye Videl! Bye Bee! Bye Mister Unicorn!"

Videl waved, chuckling as a vein in Beerus' temple started to throb. It didn't look like she was going to get any straight answers out of him, whether it was due to the amnesia or not, and what with her results having come up inclusive so far, she had only one more idea left to try.

"Splendid work PC Satan!" a booming voice cut across them, as her boss made his way through the broken window. He was a portly man, with greying hair and kind eyes. He grinned widely, nodding at the unconscious Red Sharks in approval.

"But Sarge, I didn't-," she started, but the moustached man interrupted her.

"Nonsense my girl!" he chimed, giving her a wide smile, the glasses her was wearing sliding down his nose as he spoke, "The lads told me how you took down those ruffians in the middle of that shoot on Orin street! And then I get here to congratulate you and you've taken out the rest of The Red Shark gang single handedly! At this rate Videl, you'll be promoted Sergeant in no time!"

Videl couldn't help but laugh, heat rising to her cheeks, "Don't be silly Sarge, you know I wouldn't dream of sending you into early retirement."

The Sergeant chortled happily, before the young man standing next to her caught his eye, "And just who is this Videl? I don't think your father would be too happy knowing that you're hanging around boys who wear such tight clothes."

"He's just a friend Sarge," she told the man, ignoring Beerus' scowl.

"Well I'll leave you to it in that case PC Satan," he laughed, clapping her on the shoulder, "Why don't you take the rest of the day off? You've earned it. And give my best to my father you hear? Tell him I'll have to arrange another poker night."

"Oh I will, and thank you Sir!" Videl grinned, turning to her new mysterious companion with triumph, for now she would have ampule time to execute her plan, "Fancy going for a coffee Beerus?"

Oh yes, Videl Satan was no pussy cat, and the enigma that was Beerus was not going to best her. Erasa and Sharpener were wrong. It was her duty as a police officer, as a protector of the planet, to help out the weak and needy after all. It certainly had nothing to do with the fact that he was stark raving, schoolgirl-crush worthy, greek-godly, downright insanely bonkers madly stop and throw-your-knickers-at-him good looking.

Right?

* * *

 _9th September, 2018._

* * *

 _A/N: so we had a bit of a change in POV in this chapter, I did this as I really wanted to get a good grasp of Videl's character and what she's all about. Her motives behind helping Gohan and how she perceives the world. I think it came across as well as I wanted it to! But what is this plan of hers? 0.0... until this next time!_

* * *

 **Reviews:**

Guest: thank you!

NinjaFang1331: thanks! I'm glad you liked the interaction between Gohan and Videl :)

X3runner: Thanks for your review! Im glad you like the GxV pairing even though you don't like Videl as a character. As for the U6 vs U7 it may not fit into my story. However I do aim on introducing the other universes in an exciting way! ;)

dspendragon125: exactly. I went with the amnesia thing because of how silly and rubbish of an excuse it is! As you can see from this chapter Gohan is really not very good at lying and making up good excuses!

romanovascap: thank you! Awesome that you enjoyed Gohan's reintroduction to Earth. Yeah I didnt go down the high school route as I feel like it has been so overdone. Gohan is too old for high school in this fic as he is now 19. I thought it would be more interesting to explore more of Gohan and Videl's young adult life, theres really not that much about fanfic wise!

KaiserUltima: aw thank you so much! Yeah this is a GxV ship, and you will see more changes with Videl too from the way the story has turned out. I get where you are coming from with GohanXAlala as I loved that cuteness too. But I will be exploring more of that relationship as the story continues I hope you will be happy to hear!

Super Cyrax : sorry but I dont want to spoil any part of my story so you'll have to wait and find out how the Z-gang react to Gohan!

Iwik: Yay! So happy you enjoyed the GohanxVidel intro! Yeah I wanted Gohan to remain as cool as possible, but lets face it, he is still a completely hopeless goofball when it comes to Videl ;) As for Goten or a sibling... well I wish I could say but I'm going to be good and stay quiet! xD

Robthekiwi121: Lolz

memmek10k: This story is totes Gohan centric so I wouldnt worry too much about Goku stealing the spotlight. And Videl already is significantly stronger than her Super counterpart - more will be revealed soon! You will be getting fierce Videl, I absolutely hate the fact that she became a wife and mother and lost her personality, her fiestyness and is now a housewife. They did the same to Chi-Chi. It is SO frustrating. Especially as a woman myself, the only woman of any significance is basically Bulma! Who is awesome lets face it. But it would be nice to see Videl come back again. I'll stop ranting now! :')

duskrider: Thank you! I have ideas for Vegeta's reaction. Hopefully you wont be disappointed!

TheRangerBoy : thanks!

victor0606: thank you :)

MadmanJrs : thank you so much! I cannot wait to develop their relationship further! eek!

Naite-Laef: thank you!

Reactef: Gohan is certainly the trouble-maker...;)

Lightningblade49: thank you :) I'm glad that you loved Gohan's reintroduction to Earth! I hope this chapter has also answered some of your questions in regards to who knows he defeated Cell. Poor Gohan!

777torn777: 0.0!

Beta117: Impossible. DBZA 60 is increds.

HKGlenstid: aw thanks so much!

Mayonaka Yue: hell yeah!

Guest: thanks very much, glad you like the GxV love!

Luke : thank you!

DarkLordInc : glad you didnt have to wait too long in that case!

Guest : Gohan DOES sense that Videl is stronger than the average human, but is just starting to put two and two together ;) and as for Vegeta hearing of this Beerus... I hope I don't disappoint!

Thomas-The-TMC : Glad I made you laugh out loud! Hope I continue to do so!

i'm iam : thank you :)

PhoenixFire100 : aw thank you, I cant either!

HOLLOWTGH : haha you got me. What a line though!

ulesSOD27: glad I could help! :)

Ace : aw thank you so much!

memmek10k : thank you

Gelid: glad you are enjoying Gohan's character development. Of course he will act a little differently to the original show because of his life experiences as a destroyer (or death experiences lol) though I still want to stay true to his character, I just hope I'm getting that balance right! Look out for introduction of the other universes ;)

LEO LOVER 2016 : haha I'm so glad you liked it! I love that people are finding it funny! xD Gohan and Goku (hopefully) will be blooming monumental. stay tuned ;)

x2leoj: The writing on Gohan's grave was indeed taken straight from Lily and James Potter's gravestone in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. I am a huge HP fan also, and it was a good nod to that, whilst also showing that the Z-Fighters recognised Gohan's death as non-permanent. Also, Gohan thought it was ironic seen as his role was effectively death itself. DEEP! no? :') and there is much to Gohan's power left unexplored!

Dramak: aw I'm so happy I have you hooked! Thank you so much :)


	11. Fleeting Chances

_A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back with the next chapter (finally) It's out a bit later than I had intended as have been so busy with work and life! I cannot believe that I am nearly up to 700 followers! It's insane! Thank you so much for all your love and support. It really does mean the world. I am hoping that the pacing will go a little faster from now on in terms of Gohan meeting his friends and family. I know that's what you're all waiting for ;) I will attempt to get the next chapter out swiftly as the major plot points are basically written. As always, thank you for being so patient! And Enjoy! ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

 **Fleeting Chances**

 **xxxx**

Gohan had never liked coffee, the taste far too bitter for his liking. He remembered sneaking a sip from his mother's cup when he was a child, and had nearly retched at the strong taste that had left a horrid coating on his tongue. Over a decade later and the taste was no different, he still hated the stuff. So it was beyond him why he had even agreed to accompany Videl to the little coffee shop on the corner, let alone drink several mugs of the vile concoction. And no amount of sugar he put in it made it any better.

It was evident that Videl was suspicious of him, and how could she not be after she had found him surrounded by a pile of unconscious bodies? The headstrong girl wanted answers. Answers as to where he had come from, what hospital he had been in, what ward, whether he remembered his last name and the list went on. Though Gohan could give her no such validtion, which only gave the tiny vixen leverage to exact her brilliant plan.

And as the ancient stone of Korin's tower came into view, he realised that he should have just went with his gut feeling and ran for the hills.

He _really_ hated coffee.

The young saiyan had had quite enough for one day thank you very much. In just a few short hours he had found out that he was nothing short of a celebrity, been threatened, exploded on, beaten up some thugs, accused of having an obsession with unicorns and ran into non other than Krillin and Android Eighteen's _daughter_. Now that was a shock, even more so when he had seen the killing machine intended for his father run up and cuddle the little girl in the middle of the shop. How had that relationship even happened anyway? Could androids even _have_ babies? Evidently so, as little Marron bore features of both of her parents. Still he was happy for them, especially Krillin, he had always wanted a family. He had been apart of his for so long.

It was a good job that he had hesitated and didn't destroy Eighteen right there on the spot. People had the potential to change after all, and from what he could tell, it looked as though the android had fit into their odd little group just as well as any evil-doer turned good before her. So he should have listened to the warning signs, the alarm bells ringing in his head when Videl suggested that she take him to meet a couple of friends of hers in order to try and get his memory back. Great Zalama above, why did he find it so difficult to say no to those eyes?

But alas, he was frozen. Frozen to the passenger seat of her jetcopter, as Videl started the vertical incline up to The Lookout, Bee drooling over his shoulder from the backseat. The amount of caffeine in his system only exacerbated his nerves as he realised that he would have to lie, lie through his teeth for want of them not getting hurt, of _him_ getting hurt when he had to say goodbye again.

They burst through the clouds all too soon, and the gleaming marble tiles of The Lookout came into view. Nostalgia, fear and excitement gripped him all at once, and Videl looked over at him smugly, mistaking his pale face and nervousness for something else altogether. It was as if she was introducing him to her world, but he had been apart of it all along.

The teenager couldn't help himself, and stretched out his senses, relishing in the strong Ki of his old mentor. And bloody _hell_ was it a lot stronger than when he had last sensed it. Piccolo's energy accompanied Dende and Mister Popo, and Gohan could have cried both out of grief and joy, as the familiar pulsating energies of his old friends washed over his senses. The jet landed, and the three in question stood awaiting them, with Dende and Mister Popo smiling brightly at the Satan copter. He still didn't quite understand how Videl knew them, but it must have been due to the the events surrounding Cell or Majin Buu. They stepped down from the cockpit, and his heart practically soared as he felt that familiar tap of his boots against the marble tiles.

"Videl!" Dende gushed, running over and embracing her, Bee jumping up him in excitement and barking madly, "What brings you up here?"

Gohan couldn't help but smile at his old friend. The young Namekian was nearly as tall as he was, donned in the ceremonial red and white robes of Earth's Guardian, with a long wooden staff clutched within his palm - previously belonging to Kami.

"Hi Dende, Mister Popo, Piccolo," Videl grinned at them.

The young saiyan couldn't bring himself to look his mentor in the eye, though with a pang in his chest did he hear him muster, "Hey kid."

"Shall I pop the kettle on?" asked Mister Popo, patting the labrador on the head as he began to calm down, his tail wagging enthusiastically.

"That would be lovely Mister Popo, thank you," she smiled, before turning to Dende, "Actually, I came up here to ask a favour of you. This is my friend, Beerus. We only met yesterday, and he has amnesia. I really want to help him remember his past and get back to his family. Do you think you can heal him? I think his knock to the head might have damaged some brain cells."

"A little unorthodox Videl," Piccolo stated gruffly as Gohan scowled at her, "Is it wise to bring him here and not to a hospital?"

"He says he's been to hospital," she explained, eyeing the young saiyan in question before giving them a pleading look, "He's all alone and I found him wondering around by the gr - uh, city. Please? He doesn't freak out easily I promise. He sat with Buu all through dinner yesterday!"

The halfling frowned, surprised at her lie. Why didn't she tell Piccolo that she found him at his grave? Was his death still all too raw for them? He suddenly felt a sickly feeling of guilt swirl in his stomach.

"Well alright, Dende can see to him," said the Namekian warrior, a smirk now playing on his lips, "So, are you keeping up with your training?"

Before the teenager could ask what on earth his old mentor was talking about, did he feel Dende's presence hovering over him.

"Hullo, I'm Dende," he smiled politely, it nearly broke Gohan's heart.

"Beerus," he stated with a small smile.

"Would you care to sit for me?" the Namekian asked, "I need to have a look at what's going on in your mind for me to heal parts of your memory that are missing, pathways that are broken. It may take a while, you'll be more comfortable."

Uh oh.

If Dende looked into his mind, he would be discovered. Though at first, he wondered why they hadn't recognised him straight away. He didn't think he had changed all that much, but he must have. He was taller, more muscular and scarred, with a much deeper voice and long hair to boot. His features were more defined, chiseled. He now resembled a man, not the child that they had lost eight long years ago.

"Don't worry, I promise it won't hurt," the young guardian smiled reassuringly, "Please sit."

Reluctantly, he obeyed. He would have to try and block off his mind somehow. But his emotions were running away with him, his mind was all over the place, all kinds of memories spewing forth and leaving him unable to contain them.

He could pretend to jump to his death off of The Lookout, he reasoned, but Piccolo would be sure to catch him.

He sighed in distain, as the familiar warmth of Dende's healing hands encompassed him. He closed his eyes tightly shut, trying to focus. But with Piccolo and Videl's voices surrounding him, along with the memorable smells and sounds of The Lookout assaulting his senses, it was impossible to still his mind. And his old friend caught on straight away.

Dende let out a startled gasp, abruptly retracting his hands and causing the warmth to leave him completely. Gohan opened his eyes, the onyx orbs boring deeply into his friend's.

 _Dende,_ he pleaded through a telepathic link, _Dende, please don't say anything._

 _G-Gohan?_ The young deity asked, his eyes widening to the size of saucers, _I-is it really you?!_

 _Please Dende, I don't want them to know,_ he spoke tentatively, trying to keep calm, _Not yet, please._

 _B-but how?!_ His features were strained now, as if he was going to spontaneously combust, laugh and cry all at the same time.

 _I promise I'll explain everything, but only to you as Earth's guardian, it's only proper,_ he informed him, _I'm begging you Dende. Look, Piccolo and Videl are staring at us now. Tell them that my brain injury is severe and you need to take me into the temple and I'll explain everything there, away from them._

Immediately, his old friend sprang to his feet, pretending to help the teenager up and turning quickly to the others, "Oh my! His brain injury is quite severe! I need to take him into the temple to further examine him!"

And with that they were off, with Gohan rolling his eyes at the state of hurriedness in his tone - it was anything but subtle. Though he didn't really have time to scold the young Namekian, when he was suddenly bundled into a darkened corridor and pulled into a fierce hug.

"Dende," he couldn't help but chuckle, patting his sobbing friend on the back, "Dende calm down for a minute. Bloody hell mate, I can't explain anything to you if you're in this state."

Dende pulled back, tears coursing down his fevered cheeks even though he was positively beaming at him, "Oh Gohan! Gohan I can't believe it's really you! I didn't even recognise you! I thought you were dead! Where have you been?! Shenron wouldn't let us bring you back! We thought you were lost! How long have you been on Earth?! Where is -?!"

He was quickly silenced, by Gohan slapping a hand over his mouth.

" _Be quiet!_ " he hissed, "I don't want Piccolo knowing who I am! And I doubt that his hearing has gotten any worse in eight years!"

"B-but why?!" He gasped, as soon as the teen had released him, although he was a little quieter this time round, "You're back! Your parents will be thrilled! I just can't believe it!"

"I'm not staying," Gohan sighed, and he could have sworn Dende's antenna drooped.

"W-what?"

"I can't stay Dende," he attempted to explain, "There's a reason why Shenron couldn't bring me back to life. I've been chosen for a higher purpose. It's sort of the reason I'm here really, I only got back yesterday. And after this task is well… complete, I have to go back."

"Back where?" His eyes widened, he was so full of questions, "H-higher purpose? And what kind of task? I'm sure that Piccolo and the others -"

"I can't tell them," he stated, rubbing his temples in frustration, "You can't let anyone know I'm here. If my mum and dad find out, they'll want me to stay, permanently. But if I don't achieve my goal here on Earth and take on this role I've been given, the universe will cease to exist."

His friend was nearly bowled over by the revelation, "The _universe_?! Gohan please, whatever is going on, please let us in. We've all missed you all so, so much you have no idea -"

Gohan quickly cut across him, "I _know_ Dende. Please, this is killing me too. But this, this role…well, it has to be me."

"But I don't understand," his friend argued, "Gohan, if there's something bad happening in the universe, we could always ask The Supreme Kai to -"

The young saiyan couldn't help but scoff, "This goes way higher than The Supreme Kai Dende, trust me."

He stopped short, his eyes widening to the size of saucers, "There are people _above_ The Supreme Kai?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," he said lowly, "There are beings out there with unfathomable power, power that you couldn't even begin to dream of."

Dende snorted, "Sounds like someone your dad would want to meet."

"Yeah, exactly," Gohan huffed, "Which is another reason why I'm not telling him I'm here. If he finds out what I am -"

"What do you mean?" Dende frowned, causing the halfling to cringe, realising his mistake, "What do you mean 'what you are'? You're not making any sense! Gohan, I'm your friend, please tell me. I'm just concerned about what you might be getting yourself into."

The teenager ran his fingers through his hair out of frustration as he let out a shaky breath, the guardian's penetrative stare never leaving him.

"You are troubled, old friend," he observed, "I saw it in your mind. Please, just tell me, it can't be that bad."

Gohan gave him a pointed look, and the Namekian stared back, his stance unwavering.

Finally, the young saiyan sighed, "When I died, my body and soul didn't get a chance to reach The Otherworld. Instead, I was taken to a different dimension, a dimension of Gods."

Dende blinked, "Like the Sacred Realm of The Kai's?"

"Sort of," he tried to explain gently, "Although the Kai's are Gods of Creation, and these deities are well…the opposite."

"The _opposite_ of creation?" The young Namekian gulped, aghast, "G-Gohan, you're not saying - "

"I've been trained by these deities ever since I died, in order to take over the role of the current God when he eventually dies," the teen continued, cutting across him, "but there's something evil coming, and we think we know the cause. This person is all kinds of corrupt, and they continue to build power from where they are trapped in a dark dimension. If he were to escape, it would threaten the mere existence of our universe as we know it. Because of this, I was sent to Earth to find out about a prophecy in order to help me achieve a divine power a lot faster than I would have without it. My superiors aren't letting on much, but I have a hunch that this power might be needed to stop him."

He watched as Dende continued to stare at him with wide eyes, attempting to process everything he had said.

"I don't expect you to do anything, and I'm not looking for help," said Gohan firmly, "It's my duty now. My responsibility."

"Y-you," he mustered weakly, though the teenager couldn't tell whether his voice was shaking due to awe or fear, "A divine power? You're training to take over a God?"

He nodded, as the young guardian swallowed thickly, realisation hitting him all at once, "But if this deity is the opposite of creation then that must mean a-a-!"

"That's right Dende," the halfling stated, studying his friend's reaction carefully, "I'm training to become the God of Destruction."

* * *

It took a while to calm Dende down, and he even had to put a force field around him to nullify his screams. The young Namekian had reacted in the same way that Gohan had predicted, though he was elated to see that his friend didn't kick him off The Lookout or refuse to even to look at him. Given his esteemed position, Dende knew all about the importance of maintaining a balance in the universe, though he was more than relieved when the halfling had reassured him that he had not destroyed anything without reason.

Though the young saiyan was deflated when the guardian informed him that he had never heard of this so called Super Saiyan God form, although his father and Vegeta had managed to achieve the third level of super saiyan much to his pride. They certainly weren't letting up in their training from what he could tell. It was good to know that they hadn't become complacent in times of peace, as he knew that the Earth would still need protecting even after Majin Buu. Still, he was no closer to understanding about this prophesied warrior, and was beginning to come to terms with the fact that he had to make a plan to speak with Vegeta in disguise. There was no way he could last a month here before he was able to summon the dragonballs. He had nearly gone a whole day without fighting or training, something that was unheard of. The only time he had skipped training was when he was recovering from severe injuries. However, he didn't see how he could get any training done whilst on Earth without his power attracting the Z-Fighters. He was already starting to get worried that he was falling behind in his strict regime.

The conversation had ended shortly after that, and although Dende was sad to see his friend go, Gohan promised that he would return to bid him farewell before Whis came and retrieved him. Stepping out of the temple, the young saiyan noticed that it was already dark. A small, nostalgic smile crept across his lips as he had almost forgotten just how clear the atmosphere was up here. A blanket of stars appeared to envelope the entire Earth, shining like diamonds amongst the velvet sky. It was so clear that he could even make out the constellations, taking his memories back to a time before Cell, when he and Dende would sit on top of The Lookout as kids, mapping out the pictures in the stars.

Such was a rare time of peace, no less than a week before he had left the world forever. His parents had never allowed him to stay out so late, but this was a entirely different circumstance, Cell's tournament was in ten days, and it might have been the only time they had left. Little did Gohan know that for him it would be, and he was thankful to his mother and father for letting him have those moments, for they held a precious place in his heart.

A shooting star suddenly darted across the night sky, casting shadows in his onyx eyes. The young saiyan sighed to himself, and continued on his path. He was halfway across the sanctuary, when he realised that Videl was nowhere in sight. He frowned in confusion, stretching out his senses and feeling her Ki back in Orange Star City.

Speaking of energy, the Ki signature of his beloved old mentor was standing right behind him.

The teenager whirled around, giving the tall Namekian the most innocent smile he could muster.

"Oh hello," he chimed, "Have you seen Videl?"

"I told her to head home so that you could rest," Piccolo replied gruffly, his stare burning holes in Gohan's facade.

"Well, there really is no need," he said hurriedly, the fake smile still plastered across his face as he began to walk away, "I'll just be on my way now, thank you Sir."

"Oh but I think you know that there is a need," smirked Piccolo, pausing as he eyed the teen up and down, "Gohan."

Gohan stiffened, stopping dead in his tracks, knowing all too well that he had given the game away seen as he had visibly flinched.

The young saiyan turned back around uselessly, "W-what?! I don't know what you're-"

"Don't lie to me kid, I'd recognise those eyes anywhere."

Busted, he thought, as the Namekian strode over to him, a glint in his eye that the halfling was certain held malicious intent.

"P-Piccolo, I-I can explain -"

He was cut short however, as he suddenly found his face colliding with his old mentor's chest. He blinked in surprise, as Piccolo's arms wrapped around him in a forceful embrace. He could feel his heart pounding beneath his ribcage, as his fingers stroked his hair, grasping onto him so tightly as if he was afraid that he would disappear beneath his fingertips.

"Piccolo…" Gohan whispered, tears prickling the corners of his eyes as he wrapped his own arms around the man's torso, returning the hug that he had waited so long to feel.

"Kid," Piccolo started, his voice thick with emotion, though the teenager could tell that he was desperately trying to hide it, "You won't believe what you put us through."

"I'm sorry," he sniffed, clearing his throat in a vain attempt to keep himself together, "I really am, but I -"

"I heard everything," he stated, finally breaking free of their embrace, and looking him up and down, his hands resting on his broad shoulders, "You've gotten taller."

"And yet you haven't changed," Gohan smiled, allowing the Namekian to ruffle his hair again, just like when he was a young boy.

"That reminds me, how did you change? Aren't you still dead?" he asked, though Gohan tried to ignore the pain in his eyes as he said that last word.

"Yup," he replied, wavering the concealment to show off his halo, "I have to hide this so that I don't draw too much attention whilst I'm on Earth."

"If you're trying to keep a low profile then I would suggest changing your clothes," Piccolo snorted, eyeing his exposed stomach, "Nice unicorn."

Gohan scowled, which only caused the Namekian to emit a small chuckle, "These are Videl's clothes if you _must_ know."

"Like that makes it any better."

"Look, I was basically stranded by my esteemed colleagues and left with bugger all," The teenager sighed with a roll of his eyes, before grinning up at him, "Fancy helping me out?"

Piccolo smirked, placing a hand over his head, "I got you kid."

In a white flash of light, Gohan felt a lot comfier. He looked down, and smiled at the attire that Piccolo had chosen for him. Grey skinny jeans and black and white sneakers, along with a tight purple t-shirt which showed off his muscular arms and chest.

"Couldn't stray away from the purple, could you Mister Piccolo?" He teased, using the nickname he had called him when he was a child. It felt so good to say it.

"It's my signature colour," He replied in amusement, before he caught the disgruntled look on the teenager's face. "What's the matter?"

"Aren't these jeans a little… tight?" he asked, tugging on them, they were like leggings!

Piccolo growled, "Stop whining, it's what the kids your age wear these days."

"But they're so restrictive!" Gohan protested, raising up a leg and kicking at the air, "How is anyone supposed to fight in these?!"

"You said you wanted to fit in didn't you?"

"Well yeah, but -" he started, but his old mentor quickly cut across him.

"Then deal with it," he stated gruffly, folding his arms across his chest, "I'm not a damned personal shopper, and I'm certainly not beaming you up a whole wardrobe."

"Fine, I'll wear them," said Gohan, "But I will need some more clothes."

Piccolo was about to tell him where to shove it, when he caught sight of the puppy eyes he was giving him. The kid knew full well that he could not resist that look.

"Is it working?" the halfling asked, as his bottom lip began to tremble.

The Namekian warrior sighed in defeat, causing the teen to grin in triumph. Every time.

"I'll do it after you've explained to me how you've grown whilst you're still dead," said Piccolo, eyeing him, "I don't remember any of us getting older when we died."

"Well, when you die as a kid you have a choice of whether to grow up or not," he explained, "Something about the rules of Otherworld and giving children a chance at the life they would have had. I chose to get older, I think I thought it would have been sad to never know what getting older felt like."

"It's no joy ride I can tell you that," Piccolo huffed, still staring at him. There was an emotion in his eyes that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"It's not been too bad so far," Gohan shrugged, "Besides, I was fed up of being called shortie all of the time."

His old mentor smirked at that.

"Who knows when," the teenager continued, "But they'll be a point when I'll stop ageing, or revert back to my prime as it were. Probably when I take over from Lord Beerus, he's millions of years old and he doesn't look like an old man."

"Lord Beerus?" Piccolo quirked, "Is that the God of Destruction?"

"Yeah," said Gohan, "It's who I'll be taking over from when the time comes. Whis, the Angel that is bound to this universe and trains us, says that it might only be a few centuries."

The Namekian shook his head in disbelief, though there was still a ghost of a smile on his lips, "Angels, Gods of Destruction… I still can't believe it, and I thought we had heard it all when we met The Supreme Kai last year."

"Yeah, too bad you haven't heard of this Super Saiyan God," the teenager said dejectedly, "It would make my afterlife a lot easier."

"Super Saiyan God," Piccolo repeated, as though trying to wrap his head around the words themselves, "I never thought that such a thing was even possible."

"You and me both," said Gohan, "You heard me talking to Dende. I don't know how to figure it out. Dad and Vegeta certainly can't do it."

"Maybe Vegeta knows of the prophecy, he is the prince of saiyans after all," Piccolo suggested thoughtfully, "And we could always ask Shenron."

"Yeah believe me I've already thought of both those options," he replied, folding his arms across his chest, "My only real option is talking to Vegeta, but I don't know how to get it out of him without him becoming suspicious. We can't summon Shenron for another month, and even if it comes to that I don't know how I'll be able to do it without those nosy parkers finding out."

"You really don't want to see anyone?"

Gohan looked towards his old friend, who was eyeing him carefully, an aura of sadness and disappointment surrounding him. Though his gaze was focussed and unwavering, as if daring the teenager to challenge him.

Slowly, the teen shook his head sadly, "I didn't even want to come here in the first place. I made peace with my decision a long time ago Piccolo. I just know that it's what I'm destined to do."

Piccolo watched silently as the halfling sighed, unable to hide his feelings from the man who had taught him so much, "Although sometimes, sometimes I wish that I was doing more creating than destroying."

"Destruction is just as important as creation," the Namekian said wisely, "And it's not like you're going around murdering people Gohan."

"Feels like it."

Piccolo placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Do you feel as though you have something to prove?"

He looked up suddenly, stricken by his words. Good old Mister Piccolo, he could see right through him. Some things never change.

"A little," he offered glumly, Kami he was awful at lying, "What happened at The Cell Games, Cell nearly destroyed everything and I-"

"Gohan you _died_ ," his old mentor pressed, grabbing both of his shoulders and looking directly into his eyes, "That was _more_ than enough. Gods above, you were just a child! You should have never been put into that situation in the first place. And now you're taking on such an enormous responsibility again?! Becoming a God is no easy feat, especially one of Destruction. You have nothing to prove to anyone!"

"I've made my choice Piccolo!" He snapped suddenly, his voice rising, emotions getting the better of him, "I _have_ to do this. I can't just abandon this post, especially not after everything I've sacrificed! If I don't use all this power and potential I have inside to the best of my ability, if I ignore my duty, then the balance of the universe will be in danger! Not to mention there's the possibility of another powerful enemy on the horizon!"

Piccolo quiet rightly took a step back, as Gohan spoke again, this time more calmly, "And I won't let anyone else get hurt when I have the power to prevent it."

His old mentor stared at him for a while, _But what about yourself kid?_ "You've grown up a lot, Gohan."

"Yeah," He sighed, rubbing his temples, "I didn't even know I was nineteen, I've not been counting the years on purpose."

"Probably wise, if you don't intend on coming back," Piccolo stated.

The young saiyan looked up at the man, the guilt encompassing him once more, "Do you hate me Piccolo?"

His eyes widened slightly, before he reached over and placed an affectionate hand on his hair, "I could never hate you, kid. What you're doing, is selfless. More than I can say for your father at least."

"My Dad?" he frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Let's just say that after you… left," He started, "Your father and I weren't on speaking terms. He came back to life with the Namekian dragonballs and dedicated every second of his life to finding you, but after a couple of years, he gave up."

"I'm not exactly easy to find Piccolo," he snorted, folding his arms across his chest.

"It's better now," Piccolo sighed, "Vegeta slapped some sense into us, literally."

The halfling almost laughed disbelievingly, "Vegeta?"

"Everyone took your death hard Gohan, including Vegeta," his old mentor explained, "I never gave up searching, but Goku did. We had a fight, a very big fight about three years after your passing. Vegeta had to pull us apart, and told us that you wouldn't want us to be fighting."

"Why did you fight?" he asked, trying to ignore that fact that his father gave up. Though he couldn't blame him really, he was long gone, and his mother and father needed to deal with their grief.

"I blamed him for your death," said Piccolo through gritted teeth, "He should have never have sent you up against Cell. You were just a child."

"But I won didn't I?" he said with a smile, "Don't worry about it Piccolo, I've actually had a really good afterlife, despite not being able to come and see you lot. You and Dad shouldn't fight over the past, Vegeta was right."

"Maybe," his mentor breathed heavily, "But believe me when I say that no one is over what happened to you kid. It might do them well to see you again."

Gohan swallowed thickly, "I can't do that Piccolo."

"Is it because you're afraid to leave them behind again? Or because you're afraid of what they'll think of what you've become?"

He hesitated, "Both."

Piccolo sighed, clasping him on the shoulder, "No one's going to think badly of you, Gohan."

The teenager snorted, "I'm a _destroyer_ Piccolo, literally the opposite of everything Dad stands for."

"It's up to you kid," he replied, "But I still don't think you should hide from them."

He bit his lip, averting his eyes away from his old mentor's penetrative gaze, the hand on his shoulder no longer lingering.

"How does Videl know you all anyway?" he asked, attempting to change the subject, "I know that she was the girl that I saved at The Cell Games."

"She competed in the twenty-fifth World Martial Arts tournament with us," Piccolo grunted, "She recognised us from the Games, tagged along when Majin Buu appeared - I take it you know about that?"

"I do," Gohan said meekly, not wanting the man to get the wrong idea, "But I only found out that Buu was even in this part of the universe yesterday, let alone on Earth. I nearly had to step in when we learned that he had escaped from his prision, but The Supreme Kai told us that Buu had been defeated by mortal warriors. I should have known that it was you lot, you can never stay out of trouble."

The Namekian scoffed at his teasing, before continuing, "Videl tried to fight Buu you know, even though she was no match for him. She's much like you, stubborn and headstrong. After that, she's become apart of the group we've got going on, she spars with us from time to time, gets on well with your mother."

"Are you serious?" the halfling gaped, causing Piccolo to let out a light chuckle.

"Looks like you picked the wrong girl to bump into."

"You're telling me," Gohan groaned, "I can tell she's getting suspicious of me already, I don't think she's buying this amnesia stuff as well as I'd hoped."

"Don't worry," said Piccolo, "I had a hunch that you didn't want to reveal your true self so I threw her off the scent, laid it on that I thought you were disturbed in the head."

"Wow thanks," he retorted dryly, as Piccolo snorted

"Why should you care about what she thinks anyway?" he asked, causing the teenager to blush, "You've only just met her."

"I don't," he stated attempting to keep his tone casual, "I'm just _saying_ is all. I've had enough for one day without you going around telling people I'm a nutcase."

"Right," said Piccolo, giving him a knowing look.

Gohan chose to ignore him, instead casting his gaze towards the glistening sky above them.

"She was talking about taking you to the reunion tomorrow," the Namekian said after a while, he was eyeing him again. "She feels bad that you haven't got any friends at the moment."

"What reunion?" the halfling asked, already not liking the sound of it.

"There's a gathering every year, on the anniversary of The Cell Games," said Piccolo, "Everyone gets together at Capsule Corporation. You know Bulma, that woman can make a party out of anything."

He paused, biting his lip. He knew what he was asking of him.

Gohan sighed, "I can't face them."

"I think it would do you good to see everyone again," Piccolo said wisely, "I won't let on to who you really are. Besides, it would give you an opportunity to talk to Vegeta whilst every one else is busy."

The teenager was struggling, he was right in a way. With every one else enjoying the festivities, there was no risk of them listening in to their conversation if he could get Vegeta alone. He could feel Piccolo's stare burning into him, though he was still hesitating. Was it a good idea to put himself right out in the open? What if they found out who he really was? Still, there was one overwhelming thought that was overriding all other logic.

"I just want to make sure that everyones alright," he said finally.

Piccolo swallowed, as Gohan's eyes shone with emotion, "They are kid, but I still think that you should see for yourself, before you have to leave."

A tense silence hung between them, as he spoke again, "We're both aware of the rules imposed on you. It won't be a case of seeing us again in Otherworld when we finally pass on."

"No," the young man replied, "Goodbye is… forever, or well, it's meant to be."

Piccolo stiffened, he knew of course, but hearing him say it aloud was something else altogether.

"Then you should take this chance whilst you still have it," he said, his voice steady as Gohan looked towards him, "you might not get another."

The teenager paused, his chest growing tight before he managed to breathe out, "I'd better go."

Piccolo sighed heavily, "Where will you go?"

"I don't know, I'll find somewhere," he said with a shrug.

"You're always welcome to stay here."

"I know," said Gohan, "But I shouldn't."

The Namekian swallowed, "I understand."

He sighed, turning away before Piccolo stopped him, "Here, take these before you leave."

A bright light shone over the tiles, as a pile of folded clothes materialised in front of him.

"Thanks," Gohan smiled sadly, gathering them up in his arms, "It was good to see you Piccolo."

"You too kid," he replied, as the teenager fought the urge to hug him senseless again. _You don't know how much._

"Give my best to Dende and Mister Popo," called the halfling, before a white aura gathered around him and he leapt from the edge of The Lookout, spiralling towards the Earth below.

Gohan forced down the lump of emotions in his chest as he sped away from Korin's tower. He knew that his wise old mentor was right in a way, but the young saiyan needed time to think about it, to clear his head. There was no way he could think straight if he had stayed at The Lookout. And what if his father or one of the Z-Fighters had decided to drop by? It would be difficult to explain how a random, seemingly weak teenager had managed to get up there.

However, it was with a painful awareness that he realised that he had no where to stay, and had stupidly given up the opportunity of sleeping in a rather comfy four poster bed in the sacred temple. He flew for a while, though kept his energy low for want of not drawing attention to himself. Without realising it, he was soon flying directly over Orange Star City, the bright lights of the concrete jungle illuminating the sky so that a yellow glow intermingled with the velvet night. He sighed, catching sight of the giant billboard with his face on, feeling the sudden need to land.

He didn't know just when or why he had done it, but the next thing he knew, he had found Videl's apartment building and pressed the buzzer linked with her flat number. It was safe to say that she was just as surprised as he was when he asked if he could come in over the intercom. Walking up the steps to her apartment, he realised that maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea. It was getting very late after all, and he felt as though he was imposing. Still, he had no where else to go. And even though Videl was certainly a danger to his secrets being exposed, she had been nice enough and just as eager to help him. It was no wonder that she had fit in with his friends so well. Maybe that was what had pulled him back to her apartment?

Her front door had swung open before he had even reached it, and the girl in question greeted him with a curious yet concerned expression. She was already in her pyjamas, dressed in a white oversized t-shirt with ' _Satan Dojo'_ emblazoned onto the front in scarlet lettering. It just reached to her bare thighs, which Gohan could see were beautifully toned from the amount of training she quite obviously did. The shirt had slipped off one of her shoulders, exposing the snow white skin of her neck and collarbone and nearly causing his head to spin. Her long hair was back in pigtails, though a little messy, and she had plush slippers shaped like dinosaur claws upon her feet. She held a tub of chocolate ice-cream in her hand, licking the spoon as she addressed him.

"So how'd it go?"

The teenager gulped. Hard.

"F-fine, great actually," he found himself stammering.

"And?" she asked more firmly this time.

"And what?" he asked, trying to stop his eyes from wandering. Was she not wearing anything under that shirt?!

"Your head?"

"My head?" Yep, he was staring.

Videl huffed, clearly agitated by his lack of articulacy, "The _amnesia_?"

"Oh!" the young Destroyer stammered, mentally yelling at himself to get a grip and making up a lie, "Your friends said that my memories might take a while to come back, but I'm feeling much better. Some things are a lot clearer."

"Well that's good," she said, "I'm glad they were able to help."

"Yeah, me too," he mustered weakly.

"So, are you coming in or are you just going to stand there gawking all night?" Videl asked, quirking an eyebrow in amusement. There was no doubt in his mind that she had noticed his eyes wondering all over her petite body, though despite his obvious embarrassment, he was glad that she didn't scold him for it. In fact, judging by the look in her eyes, she seemed quite intrigued by it.

"Er yeah, I mean no," he stammered stupidly, mentally slapping himself before stepping over the threshold, "I mean, thanks."

"Don't mention it," she chuckled, shutting the door behind them, "Can I get you something to drink? I was just about to watch a film."

"Water is fine, thanks," Gohan replied, wishing the ground would swallow him whole.

Videl nodded as they made their way into the kitchen come living room, and the girl quickly made to pick up a glass from the draining board and ran the tap to fetch his water. He cringed when he glanced at the clock on the wall, it was already past ten. He was acting very callous, it was far too late to be visiting a girl in her pyjamas. He blushed at the thought, what in the HFIL was he thinking barging in on her like this?

Despite his reasoning, he accepted the glass of water gratefully, taking a sip before following her to the living room. Thankfully, Bee didn't cause to much of a fuss this time, and instead of jumping all over him, he went back to snoozing at their feet as soon as they sat back on the sofa.

"So Piccolo was nice to you wasn't he?" Videl started with a sheepish smile, grabbing the blanket that had fell to the floor, from when she had no doubt gone to answer the door to him and threw it over her bare legs, snuggling up to the arm of the plush fabric. "He can be a bit… well, moody, but he's a softie really."

Gohan couldn't help but snort at that, relaxing somewhat. If only Piccolo knew what others thought of him, then he'd probably try to take over the world like his father had intended just to prove a point.

"Nah, he was fine," said the halfling with a smirk, "He's like a big green teddy bear."

"If you say so," Videl replied, giving him an odd look, "Though I have to say, it's nice to see you in normal clothes."

The young saiyan blinked, as the girl's eyes looked him up and down, was she checking him out?

"Uh thanks," he said, clearing his throat awkwardly, feeling rather warm all of a sudden, "Piccolo gave them to me."

"See? What did I tell ya?" she joked, "Big softie."

Gohan laughed, as she spoke again, "I'm guessing he dropped you off too, or how else would you have gotten here? I didn't know he was so generous to strangers."

"Um yeah," the teen sweated nervously, "he's a good bloke that Piccolo!"

"Yeah, he probably wanted you to stay here until your memories come back," Videl said thoughtfully, "Probably wise. As nice as he is I don't think he'd let you stay at The Lookout anyway. It's a sacred place after all."

"Yeah," he replied, "I didn't know you knew such interesting people Videl."

The Satan girl smiled, "I'm lucky like that."

 _You really are._

"You er, you don't mind do you?" Gohan started suddenly, "If I stay for a little while longer?"

"Of course not Beerus," she grinned, "It's my job to help the needy after all."

The teen stared, she thought he was _needy_?! Great, way to give a good impression Gohan.

"But on one condition," Videl said, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"What?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow and causing her to cackle.

"You have to watch this horror movie marathon with me!"

Gohan blinked, as the girl held up a box set of DVD's entitled ' _The blood sucking, zombified death monsters of Central City.'_

"Oh come on Beerus, it's not _that_ scary," she huffed, mistaking his bewildered look for fear, "Well, unless you're not a fan of gore."

"Er no, I like gore!" he blurted, still trying to get over the fact that she was a fan of horror films, especially ones that looked and sounded so violent. "But uh, isn't it getting a little late to watch a marathon?"

Videl rolled her eyes at him, "Tch don't be such a spoil sport! Where's your sense of adventure?"

Gohan frowned, oh he had a sense of adventure alright. But he was still very aware of the fact that he was sat across from a half-naked girl late at night. Said girl begging him to watch a series of films with her, alone, in the dark, with only a flimsy blanket strewn between them. Even so, he didn't think he had ever stayed up late watching horror films with anyone. And the young saiyan was always one for new experiences. So against his better judgement, he agreed, and an hour and forty-five minutes later he was surprised to find that he had forgotten all about his nerves, and was completely unaware of how close he and Videl were sitting, both of them too engrossed in the film to notice.

The film itself was tasteless and completely inaccurate to true gore, but Videl was loving every minute of it. He couldn't help but notice the way her eyes would light up when tension filled the room, or the way her lips would part whenever a murder would take place. She would lean forward when fight scenes would ensue, grasping hold of the blanket tightly, her chest heaving with excitement. Gohan was ashamed to admit that he had spent more time watching Videl than the actual films, though she was far more entertaining in his opinion. They had only taken short breaks from each movie to get up and grab some snacks and drinks, or have a heated discussion about plot holes before starting the next DVD. He couldn't believe how at ease he felt with her, and how all of his troubles seemed to disappear to the back of his mind. The night was perfect in his opinion, just talking and laughing with someone who didn't know the horror of what he was, unafraid of punching him playfully in the shoulder when he disagreed with her opinion of what to do in a zombie apocalypse. He felt, lighter, free, as if he was just a normal kid staying up late and having a good time with a pretty girl, not worrying about what would happen should his family and friends find out about his presence on Earth, not bound by duty or honour. Pretending that the fate of the entire universe didn't rest on his shoulders for a precious few hours.

Soon enough, it was around three in the morning, and Gohan yawned as he watched the credits roll across the screen. He had sunk quite far into the pillows, the fluffy blanket he shared with Videl strewn across his lap. He felt incredibly warm and cosy, especially since Bee had taken to lying his furry belly over his bare feet. The teenager turned sleepily towards Videl to ask her if she wanted to watch the last film, when his eyes widened, and he realised that she had fallen to sleep on his chest. He gulped, as he became all too aware of their position, and berated himself for not having realised it before. Somehow, in their sleep deprived comfort, had they ended up _cuddling_. Videl's head was practically resting underneath his chin, her long raven locks pooling across his stomach. Her left arm was draped over his muscular torso, and her bare leg cocked over his. His arm encompassed her, his hand resting upon her hip so that the fabric of her baggy t-shirt had rode up a little, exposing her creamy white skin even more so.

Gohan stiffened in alarm, and quickly retracted his hand from her hip as though he had been burned. He breathed out a shaky breath, as he knew he needed to wake her, but unsure of how she would take their current position. Still, it was incredibly difficult for him to disturb her. Videl looked so peaceful, content, her chest rising and falling in a gentle motion as she continued to doze. The halfling couldn't help but allow a small smile to grace his lips as she muttered something incoherent in her sleep, snuggling further into him as though he was the comfiest pillow in the world. His stomach clenched unexpectedly, a vain attempt at keeping the rampaging butterflies at bay. It wasn't as though he hadn't cuddled with a girl before, he'd had his fair share of fooling around a little whilst on adventures in space - unbeknownst to Whis of course. But somehow, with Videl it was completely different. This feeling… it was intense, overwhelming, like a punch in the gut. And yet still, he couldn't bring himself to move.

He stayed there for a moment too long, selfishly relishing in the comforting feelings that her body warmth brought. Gohan sighed, attempting to gently poke the girl awake, though it seemed that she wasn't having any of it. Giving in, the young saiyan swiftly wrapped his arms under her legs and back, getting to his feet quietly so as to not disturb her any more than was needed. Bee looked up at the sudden movement, cocking his head curiously at the young man.

"Shh," Gohan whispered at the dog, "I'm just tucking her in and I'll be right back. Don't look at me like that."

The labrador snorted in approval, before nestling his head back on the rug, drifting back off to sleep. The teenager took this as conformation, and padded quietly to Videl's bedroom, trying to ignore the way that the girl nestled perfectly in his arms, or the way she fisted his shirt in her sleep. Her bedroom was fairly simple, with white washed walls, a dresser, wardrobe and large double bed. It was a little messy, with clothes strewn over the floor and empty cans of energy drinks dropped near the litter bin that was fit to bursting. He couldn't help but notice the martial arts posters adorning the walls.

Placing the girl gently down on the mattress, he was glad to find that she had released his shirt to make it a little easier. She sighed in contentment, causing his stomach to flutter again as he pulled the covers over her body. It was dark, though the room was bathed in a silvery glow thanks to the thin curtains, the starlight pouring in through the window pane. It took a moment for Gohan to compose himself, too enchanted by the way the starlight washed over Videl's beautiful features. Her plump lips were curled into a smile as if she could sense him watching her. With another angelic sigh, she pulled the bedsheets tighter around her, snuggling into her pillows, her long lashes casting shadows over her cheeks.

The young Destroyer felt cold all of a sudden, the heat of Videl's body no longer with him. His onyx eyes focussed on her lips as they parted ever so slightly, as the girl relaxed into her dreams. He felt an overwhelming urge to kiss her. To taste those lips and feel her warmth again.

But he didn't. He couldn't.

He swallowed hard, and left the room.

" _Oooo you've got it bad,"_ Z chirped from where he was resting up the wall when Gohan had entered the living room.

Gohan didn't answer the relic as he readied himself for sleep, nor did he deny his words. Taking off his jeans and shirt, he grabbed a clean t-shirt out of the pile of garments that Piccolo had materialised for him and shoved it roughly over his head. Settling himself back onto the sofa, the teenager heaved a deep sigh of frustration, the overwhelming feeling of falling from a great height encompassing him all at once.

He would have to find somewhere else to stay until he found out how to become a Super Saiyan God, or else he would be sure to get himself into all kinds of trouble.

* * *

 _17th October, 2018._

* * *

 **Reviews:**

Aaron Leach: thank you!

keyblademeister88 : thanks so much! hopefully the pacing will be a bit quicker now as we get into the meat of the story!

Naite-Laef: thank you! glad you like the alternate world!

HKGlenstid : thanks for your review, yeah the whole thing with andriods sensing Ki kind of threw me for a whim. I wasnt sure if they could or couldnt so I went with couldnt to give them a weakness. All fighters have weaknesses, even Gohan ;)

Iwik: thanks! haha yes I loved Mr Unicorn. I cant wait to reveal Vegeta's reaction. I promise there will be drama xD soon!

iikd: thanks so much!

romanovascap: I have a few ppl asking why Eighteen didnt recognise Gohan. However this is literally the only interaction they have had. Ever. Eighteen was unconcious when Gohan knocked her out of Cell's belly and throughout the android saga he never crossed paths with her. I mean sure shes probably seen pictures of him etc but didnt really KNOW him. I thought it would be good for Gohan to see her as the first Z-Fighter, and with Piccolo in this chapter it really gives the uncertainty of whether or not the rest of the gang would recognise him. And yes marron is a cutie pie! 3

Look what Jesus did: ahhh thank you so much! There is lots of Gohan torment to come!

LEO LOVER 2016: I am SO glad you are addicted!

X3runner: Videl works for Orange star PD and Krillin for South city PD, though I thought it would be nice to keep them in the same profession. Thanks so much for your review and Im glad you picked up on the parallels! I'll leave the reader to make of what you will in regards to Sharpeners personality and sexuality, he's a minor character in this story so I probably wont be majorly exploring it if its not centric to the plot.

duskrider: thank you! I am loving the hype for Vegeta reaction.

Darkmehameha: MORE!

Neededsomething: Haha thanks! I thought Marron deserved to kick someone in the balls. She has her parents fighting spirit!

Guest: glad you liked the ending!

TrapperPanda: thanks so much! hope you liked the new chapter!

BloodySS2God : thank you! that means the world!

Toorafc: thanks!

REQUIEMCROSS: you know, i only realised that I had done the same as spiderman homecoming until someone reviewed it! :')

mubaarik4858: thanks!

Guest: 'fillers' are part of the story. I'm character building :)

Super Cyrax : paths, crossed.

MadmanJrs : haha love your review! Marron is boss.

x2leoj : thank you for your honest reveiw! glad you are enjoying it! We will deffo see a gohan vs goku/vegeta or maybe both fight in the future. Of course they would want to test his strength when they find out so look forward to that! Glad you are picking out the parts where Gohans training is coming to light. I am to expand on that as the story continues!

Lightningblade49: thank you! glad you picked up on 18/Gohan relationship!

memmek10k: thanks for your review! I agree Goku is quite a boring character to write. however Im deffo gonna give him some interesting quirks in this story!

Vile Twitch: thanks!

Subzerolinkuei: this is a dilemma for the plot point, it makes the story more interested to read when the main character has a dilemma.

victor0606: thank you!

Dan2018: ah you will have to wait to find out what gohan decides. his duty? or love? dont worry though, I have the ending all sorted out ;)

Dann: thanks!

Guest:thank you

dx-1118: thank you so much for your review! glad youre enjoying the story so far! you have some interesting points, but sadly I cannot reveal anything!

FireEmblemMaster101:thank you so much! I havent decided if the movies are cannon to my AU yet. I cant wait for them to all find out yet either. It will be hilarious and dramatic and amazing I promise! Its a few chapters away yet though, so please stay tuned!

Zeromaru Chaos Mode: Gohan will have more transformations I can garantee! And his relationship with Videl will be something you'll have to watch out for ;)

DragonCrusader: thank you! glad you liked the last line!

Pie 555: (chapter 5) promise there will be more moments of hilarity!

Gelid: thank you, and in answer to your question. Gohan's ki has changed somewhat due to his experiences as a destroyer but when Gohan does power up he will still be familiar to them, yet incredibly powerful.

Guest (erin) - thanks so much! sorry I am keeping you sleep deprived though! haha, yay glad you caught the Hercules reference! Doesnt she just scream Videl though? And thanks for replying to the other review regarding GXV romance! xD

MustHaveMore: thank you!

Guest: thats ok! Gohan is currently 19 and appears 19 as he chose to continue aging when he died, something that is granted to children when they die so that they have a chance to grow up. they can choose not to, but Gohan did.

Hek'UnnSkipper : aw thank you so so much!

Chrisfragger: yes they were masks of the z fighters

pkstarstorm64: sorry it took so long! hope i didnt dissapoint!

dx-1118: thanks for your review! glad you are enjoying it!

eliteshadow : thank you!

zayten: I do have a little bit of Jaco in mind ;)


	12. Life Goes On

_A/N: Here it is! The next chapter for you! I tried not to rush this chapter, but I feel bad for the long wait between the last chapters, and similarly I don't want the story to drag out for so long. There's lots to get through, so my aim is to try and get the right pacing. I hope I've achieved that! Thank you once again for all your love and support of this story so far. ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve**

 **Life Goes On**

 **xxxx**

Piccolo was a git.

He had surmised this particular fact many years ago whilst preparing for the arrival of the Saiyans, when the Namekian would use his deadly eye lasers on him whenever his back was turned, burning his underwear in the process. Charcoaled undergarments aside, it was obvious to Gohan that his old mentor had a dark sense of humour, and as such he should have known that he would have slipped in a little something into his care package to wear to the Z-gang's reunion. That git knew him far too well, even after all these years. He knew that the teenager would give in somehow.

Just probably not in the way he expected.

"Well, what do you think?" Videl asked from where she stood across from him in the living room.

She tapped her foot impatiently when he didn't answer, as he was struggling to find the brain power to make his lips move and form a coherent sentence.

"I-I uh -," he spluttered, his voice coming out as a rather strangled squawk and causing the girl to sigh in distain.

"Are you always this articulate?" she huffed, folding her arms across her chest that was barely covered by the fluffy white towel she was wearing.

It was Videl's day off from work, and as such the both of them had slept in until noon, though Gohan was so emotionally exhausted from his conversation last night with Piccolo, he had made no attempt to move from his position on the sofa. This had led to his current predicament, as Videl had taken her shower first, and was now standing shamelessly in front of him, her long raven hair barely dry and causing small droplets of water to trickle down her beautifully exposed skin. The young saiyan had nearly had a heart attack when she had woken him up in such a manner, and a part of him sleepily thought that he was just having a very nice dream.

For the young saiyan was steadily coming to realise that he was developing some dangerous feelings for the blue eyed girl that he was currently cohabiting with. And as soon as she had asked him whether he would like to accompany her to 'her friends party', did he momentarily forget every reason why he _shouldn't_ go, all sense of logic flying out of the window. The fact that the object of his affections was dressed in nothing but a towel certainly didn't help his lack of reasoning.

"Um sorry, it's just y-you," Gohan managed to muster, slapping a hand over his eyes to prevent himself from ogling the girl any further, "c-could you put some clothes on please?!"

He heard her scoff in annoyance, "Well excuse _me_ mister lodger, but this is my apartment. I could walk around stark naked if I fancied it."

Well that thought was enough to give him a minor stroke.

"Besides, you were bold enough to put me to bed last night," she said dangerously, "You shouldn't be bothered by a girl in a towel. What are you twelve or something?"

The young saiyan uncovered his eyes to glare at her, though failed to hide the blush marring his cheeks, "For your information, I only put you to bed so that you wouldn't wake up with a stiff neck from sleeping on me! It's _called_ being a gentlemen!"

"Sure it is," she shrugged offhandedly, "As long as you didn't try anything funny."

Gohan gaped at the accusation, and spluttered hotly, "Are you serious? Of course I didn't!"

The girl quirked an eyebrow, causing him to wince.

"Not that… not that I _wouldn't_ ," he tried, as she continued to eye him, "I mean you're pretty and all but I wouldn't try anything, I'm not that kind of person!"

"Right, so you're the chivalrous type," she surmised dryly, though there was a hint of amusement in her eyes. He prayed that she had ignored the fact that he had outwardly admitted that he thought she was pretty, "I didn't even think that your kind still existed."

"Look, I'm sorry that I didn't wake you," said Gohan gently, not wanting her to be annoyed with him, "It's just, you looked so peaceful and I didn't want to disturb you."

"It's fine," Videl shrugged, waving him off, "Let's say no more about it."

The halfling breathed a sigh of relief as she smirked back at him, "As long as you don't use that chivalry crap as an excuse just to get into my pants."

His eyes boggled, she was so _vulgar_!

"Er, no!" he sweated nervously, "It was all with good intentions I promise!"

Videl nodded in satisfaction, before rounding on him again, "So, are you up for it?"

Gohan blinked, " _Pardon_?"

"The party?" the girl said with an exasperated eye roll.

"Oh, I don't know," he gulped, chasing the racy thoughts out of his mind, "I mean, I don't know anybody there, it could be really awkward."

Videl sighed in understanding, "Yeah but you can't just sit here all day by yourself. And to be fair, you don't really know anyone else on this entire planet at the moment apart from me. Would it kill you to make some new friends?"

Possibly, he thought, hesitating. He really didn't know how to get out of it when she was looking at him with such pleading eyes.

"Oh come on Beerus, where's all that chivalry you were harping on about a second ago?" she teased, a smile playing on her lips, "You going to leave a girl hanging? Doesn't sound very gentlemanly to me."

Heat rose to his cheeks, "Well -"

"Then it's settled," said Videl, not giving him a chance to make up an excuse, "Hurry up and get your glad rags on, we'll be leaving in half an hour."

Gohan stared after her, unsure of what had just happened. And thirty minutes later he was dressed in the smart suit that Piccolo had provided for him, sitting next to the headstrong Satan girl in the cockpit of her jetcopter. Bee panting happily behind them from the backseat - did she really have to take that daft mutt everywhere with her?

The young saiyan was fairly certain that the girl could fly, especially seen as she hand been hanging around the Z-Fighters for just over a year. He couldn't see a stubborn girl such as Videl Satan just sitting back and watching the Ki-users and not being able to use and control energy herself. She was heavily practised in martial arts after all, and from the impression he got from her, she only wanted to keep improving, using Ki would more than compliment her fighting style.

However, Videl mustn't have wanted to spring too much on him too soon as it were, seen as she thought he was 'normal' and Gohan had to deal with being cooped up in the jet for an annoyingly slow forty-five minutes. It seemed that Videl wasn't that used to making the trip in the copter either, only confirming his suspicions, as she had misjudged the amount of time it would take them, subsequently making the pair of them late. Though the only good thing about being in a confined space with Videl was that he had more than enough opportunity steal glances at her. Though he couldn't help but notice that she had stolen a couple herself, their eyes catching every so often.

 _"Your face will get stuck like that if you're not careful,"_ Z told him from where he was concealed, as the teenager cleared his throat, unable to keep his eyes from wandering ever since she had greeted him outside of her bedroom door. He hadn't been able to answer her at first when she asked if he was ready to go, it felt as though all of the air had been forced out of his lungs at the mere sight of her.

The girl was wearing a midnight blue dress that complimented her eyes perfectly. The classy attire reached to just below her knees, with a slit up the side that showed off even more of her toned legs. The fabric clung to her curvy yet petite figure, with a sweetheart neckline that enhanced the elegance of her neck and collarbone. The colour contrasted brilliantly with her ebony hair, which she had worn down for the occasion, the long tresses reaching her waist in elegant waves. She had a small amount of makeup on from what he could tell, and matching heels upon her feet. It made her a little taller, but not as tall as he.

Gohan too was dressed up to the nines. The young saiyan hadn't worn a suit since he was last on Earth, and had to admit that it did feel rather nice to dress up, even though he thought that the pair of them might look a bit too formal for a barbecue in Bulma's back garden. The teenager looked incredibly stylish and handsome, wearing a tight designer charcoal blazer with matching skinny trousers, with a crisp white shirt underneath. He had undone a few buttons at the collar, which showed off the definition of his muscles underneath.

Say what you wanted about Piccolo, the man might have been a git, but he certainly had an uncanny eye for style.

As their eyes met once more, he couldn't help but notice that Videl had a tinge of crimson to her cheeks, though she tried to cover her tracks by engaging him into conversation.

"We'll be there soon," she said, stubborning fixing her gaze back on the clouds that whizzed past them as they flew through the sky.

"Great," said Gohan, forcing a smile, a feeling of dread encompassing him.

He was racked with nerves, that was a given. The only good part of his decision was the fact that he got to get lost in those sapphire eyes for a little while longer.

"Don't worry," she grinned back at him, "My friends are a bit much but they'll love you I'm certain of it. If you can handle Piccolo, then I'm sure you can handle the rest of the rabble."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"You just need to relax and have a good time," said Videl, "let your hair down, you know? You've had a rough couple of days."

 _You have no idea_ , the young saiyan thought glumly as they started to descend, a familiar yellow bricked building coming into view.

To his surprise, the large domed structure hadn't changed all that much since he had last visited nearly a decade ago. He used to think that the complex of Capsule Corporation was incredibly grand, but with all the monumental places he had visited throughout space, he couldn't help but think that it looked rather humble now. The soft blades of grass blew gently in the breeze as Videl decapsulised the yellow jet and walked up the stone-flagged path. Mrs Briefs' beautiful flowers hung in delicate baskets either side of the doorway, and light spilled out onto the porch from the hallway. He remembered being here as though it were yesterday, and he could hear the sounds of jovial laughter from over the garden fence, reaching his ears in a soft ringing.

He didn't think that he had been so nervous in all of his afterlife, and even silently wished that it was Cell waiting on the other side for him, not his family and friends. The halfling had even masked his Ki so much so that it resembled a door mouse that hadn't been fed for a week. He was certain that no one would be able to recognise him by his energy signature, he had been on Earth for two days after all and no one had noticed. But just like Piccolo, would anyone compare the young man he had become to the child that was lost?

"Ready?" Videl asked him with a breathtaking smile as they reached the front step, breaking him out of his thoughts.

He smiled back, the nerves settling in his stomach like a deadweight, "As ready as I'll ever be."

With that, she pressed a delicate finger to the doorbell and soon enough did the front door swing open, revealing none other than Bulma Briefs.

Gohan wanted to bowl her over in a fierce hug her right then and there, and had to restrain himself from doing so with a great amount of willpower. Bulma had been like a second mother to him, especially with what they went through together on Namek. He remembered that in the run up to The Cell Games, she had offered to show him around the engineering labs of Capsule Corporation, and even hinted at him getting a job there when he was older. He was a smart kid after all, and loved to help the heiress out on numerous projects when he was taking a break from studying and training. But alas, it was not meant to be.

She hadn't changed that much at all, still just as pretty with her hair cut shorter than he remembered and styled even further into an elegant up-do. A few laughter lines framed her lips, along with a couple of worry lines on her forehead, yet apart from that she was flawless. Bulma was overly-dressed in an elegant ballgown, which was deep red and trailed behind her as she walked. She most certainly pulled it off though. Her neck and ears were adorned with expensive jewellery, which sparkled just as much as the beaming smile that she was giving them.

"Oh Videl!" Bulma swooned, engulfing the girl in a bone crushing hug, "I thought you weren't coming seen as your dad and Buu are already here, but then I remembered that you'd moved out! How's the new place by the way?"

"It's great thanks Bulma," the girl beamed back, glancing at the teenager beside her, "And I wouldn't miss this for the world."

The woman's eyes widened to the size of saucers, as Gohan gave her a weak smile, "And just _who_ is this handsome young man?! Have you been keeping him a secret from me Videl Satan?!"

He suddenly felt incredibly awkward, as his father's childhood friend practically ogled him, looking him up and down like a piece of man meat. Well, at least she didn't recognise him.

Videl laughed heartily, "He's just a friend Bulma, this is Beerus."

"Beerus eh?" the older woman observed, wriggling her eyebrows suggestively, "Well come on then handsome, get in here! This party won't start itself you know!"

With that he allowed himself to be pulled into the heat of the complex by Bulma, Videl laughing all the more so behind him, Bee trotting at her heels. They only came to a halt when they entered the back garden, where an enormous marquee and dance floor had been set up underneath the clear blue sky. There were several food stands and attending waiting staff, along with a buffet table and huge barbecue, the smells of which were wafting towards his nostrils in tantalising waves. It was a lot of food by anyones standards, though he realised that they had his father's and Vegeta's saiyan stomachs to contend with, and he doubted that young Trunks was any different.

Still, there was a lot of people here, a lot of whom he didn't know. It seemed that the Z-gang weren't the only ones that Bulma had invited. Crowds of people filled the large garden, dancing and drinking, dressed in swanky attire for the event. Balloons and streamers hung from the marquee and music pumped heavily from a set of tall speakers, people whooping and cheering as a new song came on which the teen didn't recognise. They were quite obviously Bulma's friends, as he didn't think that any one else from their group knew that many people. Though through the busy throngs he spotted familiar faces. A few of them were sat around rounded tables, drinking glasses of sparkling alcohol and eating. Whilst some were dotted around chatting and seemingly having a good time. He could even hear Mister Satan's booming laughter from the other side of the garden.

Gohan frowned, he didn't know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. He was half expecting a morbid event, with the Z-gang sat around Bulma's living room drinking cups of tea and sobbing over his baby photos. Then again, he shouldn't have expected any less from Bulma. He couldn't help the smile that twitched at the corners of his mouth, as he looked around the crowd, the gang's Ki's familiar and pulsating with life, standing out from everyone else's. From a quick glance he could see that there was subtle changes to their appearances, but they were still them. They were still his old friends.

He quickly tore his eyes away, trying not to focus on them too much. He couldn't just go and strike up a conversation with them after all, and similarly had no urge to. Luckily, he couldn't see his parents or grandfather anywhere, and he intended to avoid them for as long as possible. It was part of the plan that he had come up with on the ride over. And if it meant hiding in the bathroom before he could corner Vegeta, then so be it. Speaking of, he couldn't see the hotheaded prince anywhere either.

Though there was someone he did notice, as he came bounding towards them with a spring in his step. At first, he thought that the old man had recognised him instantly, and that his whole plan had gone out of the window, giving his enthusiasm. However, the old master bypassed him completely, instead aiming his lecherous hands towards Videl.

"Videl! Hic!" Master Roshi giggled, quite obviously drunk. He was wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt and his signature sunglasses, looking just as old as Gohan remembered him. His cheeks were ruddy from alcohol, his bald head practically shining in the summer sun. The old man leered towards Videl, wrapping his arm around her shoulders in a one armed hug. Bee growled menacingly, though the ancient martial artist appeared not to have noticed.

"Nice to see yeh made it!" he hiccuped, as he shamelessly used the opportunity to peek at her cleavage, his glasses sliding down his nose, "I see yeh've brought the twins!"

 **BAM!**

"Back _off_ old man!" the girl growled, retracting her outstretched fist as Master Roshi was sent flying into the wall of the house, leaving a sizeable crack in the brickwork.

 _Huh, Piccolo was right_ , Gohan thought to himself, rather impressed by that punch of hers, Videl really did fit in their weird group rather well.

"Do you want a drink before I introduce you to my friends?" she asked sweetly, having recovered fairly quickly from her outburst.

He nodded mutely, accepting the beer that she handed him from a passing waiter and taking a sip. It was a strange but pleasant taste in his opinion. He had been too young to have any when he was last on Earth, although he had seen people like his grandfather, Roshi, Krillin and other adults drink the stuff on numerous occasions. He had tried a similar concoction with the potential for intoxication a couple of years back on a planet called Zorn after a successful mission with The Supreme Guard. The memory of that night was very hazy, though he hadn't been allowed back on that planet since, and Whis and Lord Beerus had banned him from drinking anything remotely alcoholic since.

They still couldn't quite figure out how that herd of rampaging manticores had ended up in Beerus' bedchamber. Though he had a hunch that Makhai knew from how much he was laughing his head off. Still, they didn't have to know. And besides, Earth beer tasted nowhere near as potent, and he highly doubted that there were any angry manticores nearby to set loose.

He had been so busy admiring Videl that he hadn't even realised that Bulma had left their side, dragging a stunned Roshi away by the ear in the process. Apparently she had gone to talk to some business associates of hers, which explained the amount of people here. It seemed that she had invited the entire stronghold of Capsule Corp. employees, along with guests from other pioneering companies. When he asked why there was so many people here, Videl had informed him that the anniversary of The Cell Games had become a national holiday, giving the whole world the chance to celebrate and Bulma an excuse to give her employees the day off and network with other companies. He wasn't surprised to hear that Dr Briefs had retired a couple of years back and Bulma had taken the reins as the CEO of the company.

Videl had left him to his thoughts shortly after, spotting her father and Buu nearby and promising she would be back after she had caught up with them, taking the labrador with her. Gohan wasn't all that bothered about being left alone, having no urgency to speak to anyone but Vegeta. He also reasoned that the more he distanced himself from Majin Buu the better. Things could get messy if the pink blob tried to challenge him to a fight.

He stood some distance away from the main throng of people, though was close enough so that he could still watch the crowd surrounding him. He started to take more notice of his old friends, and almost laughed aloud when he spotted Krillin with a mop of black hair. He almost didn't recognise him! He followed his figure as he made his way across the dance floor with a plate of food, before sitting at a table that housed the majority of the Z-Fighters, including Eighteen and Marron.

The little girl's face was alight with laughter as she climbed into her father's lap, playing with a bright yellow balloon. Tien had barely changed, though Gohan couldn't help but notice that he sat with his arm around a blue haired woman who was chatting animately with Chaiozu. Yamcha was also with them, his hair longer and his scarred face looking even more so. He must have gone on another training venture in the wilderness like old times, he surmised, his Ki certainly felt stronger. In fact, the lot of them felt eons stronger compared to eight years ago.

Puar, Oolong and Turtle also accompanied them, chortling heartily at something the now recovered Master Roshi was saying. He couldn't help but feel a little emotional as he caught sight of his grandfather, the large man towering above everyone else as the table. His face was bright and beaming, as he waved his arms in the air, most likely recounting a story from the old days like he always did. They all looked happy, content, albeit a few years older, his grandfather practically grey all over now. It was with a strange realisation that they were much older, the main Z-Fighters were all nearing or well into their forties, his father included. They were all dressed rather smartly for the occasion, making them look even more matured. He had never seen them make such an effort, the warriors of Earth more than comfortable in their training gear in all the time he had known them.

The teenager watched them for a few moments before forcing himself to tear his gaze away, his onyx eyes darting across the sea of people trying to spot Vegeta, taking larger, bolder swigs of his beer as he grew increasingly anxious. He could sense him, his strong Ki mulling around in the background, but if he was off sulking somewhere like he usually did at gatherings, it would look suspicious if Gohan just popped up out of nowhere and found him.

The music pumped loudly in his ears, the vibrations from the speakers humming through his chest. Everyone looked so cheerful and happy, dancing and drinking without a care, celebrating without any true sense of their 'saviour' standing only feet away from them. The whole scene was making him feel more uncomfortable by the second. It was definitely poor timing on Whis' part. Trust the Angel to send him back to Earth over the anniversary of his death. He bet that if he had landed at any other time of the year then he could have avoided all this nonsense. It was ridiculous, he thought, as the Z-fighter's table erupted with laughter, just what in the HFIL did he think he was doing here anyway? He had no place after all, he had left this world a long time ago. Besides, him being here was far too dangerous, he could easily be discovered.

Stupid Videl and those distracting eyes of hers.

"So, you came."

Gohan jumped at the sound of his old mentor's voice, almost slopping the rest of his drink all over himself. The teenager scowled as the Namekian warrior smirked back at him, eyeing his attire in an approving manner.

"Against my better judgement, but yeah I'm here," the young saiyan replied, draining his bottle whilst taking note of the fact that Piccolo hadn't made an effort to change out of his normal fighting gi like everyone else. Though he shouldn't have expected any less.

"I think you've made the right decision," he said, folding his arms across his chest and standing next to him, "How are you holding up?"

"Not too badly," Gohan replied honestly, "Though I haven't really spoken to anyone yet."

"I suppose you intend to keep it that way," he observed, causing the halfling to shrug and avoid the question.

"Isn't this a bit…I don't know… much?" the teenager asked, glancing around him at the festivities, "I mean, all of this because I killed Cell? I'm even an action figure for crying out loud."

Piccolo snorted, "You saved the world Gohan, you can't expect people to just forget that."

"But they act like I'm some kind of martyr," he growled in annoyance, "I just did what I had to do. They shouldn't be doing all this for me."

"You think this is all for you?" the Namekian asked him, as Gohan blinked in confusion.

Piccolo sighed, watching as the table holding Krillin and Tien roared with laughter once more, Videl was now with them, "For them, this is all they can do. Reuniting like this gives them something to look forward to every year, celebrating instead of grieving on this day helps them cope with what happened to you."

"But-!" he started to protest, but the man cut across him, a strange emotion in his eyes.

"Today marks not only the anniversary of Cell's demise, but of your death too. A death that should never have been," he stated, as the teen clamped his mouth shut, "Every single person you loved and called your family blames themselves for not being able to protect you. This day isn't for you, it's for them. It helps them heal."

"Piccolo I -"

"Think about what I said back on The Lookout kid," he interrupted, coal black eyes boring into his soul, "it would do you well to take a chance whilst you still can, you have the time."

The teenager's chest grew tight with emotion, as his old friend looked out onto the dance floor, "Videl is coming back, I'll leave you to it. Make sure you enjoy the festivities."

"Piccolo wait-!" cried Gohan, but it was too late, he had already sunk back into the shadows, and soon enough he was confronted with Videl's beaming face.

"Was that Piccolo?" she asked him, her own bottle of beer clasped in her palm.

"Oh yeah," the young Destroyer said nervously, "He was just wondering how my head was."

"Oh," Videl blinked, "That was nice of him."

"Heh yeah…"

"Just a heads up by the way," she spoke with a grin, "You might find yourself interrogated tonight, a couple of my friends have already teased me about showing up with a boy."

So, they had already noticed him. This was bad.

Gohan gulped, "Oh really?"

"Yeah, Krillin, Eighteen's husband is one of them," the Satan girl sighed in distain, "You know little Marron's mum who you met yesterday? He wants to meet you to find out your intentions. He's only teasing, he tends to do that a lot. I told him we're just friends."

Oh no.

"Are you alright?" she frowned, "You look a bit flustered."

"Er no I'm fine!" he lied, wishing that he could just corner Vegeta and then get the HFIL out of here, no matter what Piccolo said. But just when he thought he caught sight of a shock of spikey black hair, was he nudged in the ribs by Videl.

"Uh oh, and here comes the cavalry," she chuckled.

Gohan turned his head to where she was pointing, and stopped cold.

The same eyes stared back at him, the onyx eyes of his mother's. The very woman who he had dreamed of being held tightly by in his darkest nights of the training camp when he had first arrived on Lord Beerus' planet. She moved fluidly through the crowds, her beautiful purple dress billowing behind her as she smiled warmly at Videl. Although unlike Bulma whose face was bright and beaming, his mother looked tired. She was of course, still as pretty as ever, but with permanent bags under her eyes, and a few strands of grey amongst her ebony hair.

"Oh Videl it's so lovely to see you!" Chi-Chi gushed on her approach, hugging the girl before turning towards him.

He was certain that she knew, given the fierce look in her eyes, but was surprised to see her frown deeply, a sudden aura of hostility about her.

"Bulma tells me that you have a boyfriend," she said, still eyeing him disapprovingly.

Videl sighed hopelessly, not embarrassed by her accusations in the slightest, "This is Beerus, he's just a friend Chi-Chi."

The ox-princess looked him up and down, before finally tearing her eyes away from him and sighing whimsically, "You know, if my Gohan were still alive, you'd be perfect for each other."

The teenager's jaw hit the ground, and he continued to gape at the woman as she spoke, "I bet he'd be a lovely young doctor or scholar by now, both even! Oh yes, and in a few years you'd be married with lots of grandchildren for me to spoil!"

The young Destroyer suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, he'd been dead for eight years for crying out loud, and his mother was still having fantasies about him becoming a doctor, getting married and producing a million babies?! Ugh.

Videl hugged her, speaking soothingly, as tears began to spill from this mother's eyes, "Oh Chi-Chi, I know it's hard, thinking about him today. But he wouldn't want you to be like this."

Too right, please stop marrying me off in your dreams mother.

"T-thank you sweetheart," she sniffed, pulling out a handkerchief and blowing her nose.

Suddenly, there was a small commotion behind them, and a few people around them gasped and cried out in shock as the enormous iced cake on the buffet table practically flew across the garden, soaring over the crowd's heads before hitting the ground with a loud **SPLAT!** A few party goers flung themselves out of the way for want of not getting icing on their expensive attire, though a few people laughed, as Bee took this opportunity to get his fill of the sugary treat. The teenager frowned, not quite understanding how the cake had toppled off the table with such a force.

As a flurry of cleaning bots raced to clean up the mess, Chi-Chi's mood quickly did a one-eighty and she turned to yell behind her. "SON GOTEN! What have I told you about running around causing mayhem on today of all days?!"

Gohan's eyes widened, Son Goten?

The little boy in question, who was about eight years old by his estimation, appeared to be the perpetrator of the commotion, and bounded right up to them with an apologetic look on his face. The face, that was all to reminiscent of his father, _their_ father apparently. Goten was Goku's carbon copy, right down to the spikey mass of hair, obsidian eyes and goofish grin.

Gohan couldn't breathe, his lungs constricting painfully all of a sudden as the boy began to speak, confirming his suspicions, "Sorry Mummy, but me and Trunks found this really weird looking frog, and Trunks dared me to poke it but I didn't want to 'cause it was slimy. So he threw it at me and when I ducked it hit the cake and the cake fell over and-!"

"Yes, yes, that's _quite_ enough Goten," Chi-Chi sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in despair, "Now where is that father of yours? I need him to take you home to get you changed, you've gotten cake everywhere! And on your best suit too!"

"Aw Chi, it's fine, it's just a little bit of cake!" came a cheerful voice.

At the sound of the familiar tone, Gohan panicked. He couldn't take it. Being next to his family - it was overwhelming, suffocating. As though he was drowning in a sea of emotions and guilt. The only words in his head were screaming - ABORT. ABORT. MISSION ABORT.

And that he did, teleporting out of their midst so fast that he was gone in a blink of an eye, the small group too distracted by his mother's irate yelling to notice that he had disappeared. Safe to say, he didn't leave altogether, and instead found himself over at the other end of the complex, far away from the party and his parents. He gasped from where he was leaning up the wall of the complex, trying to steady his breathing as he gulped down refreshing breaths of air. He didn't know why he had reacted like that. Maybe he thought that his father would see right through him, or maybe he just couldn't bring himself to lie to them. Or did it have to do with the presence of the little boy with his father's eyes?

The teenager shook himself, trying to subdue the sudden feelings of betrayal and abandonment that exploded within him at the thought of the young boy. It was stupid of him to think that his parents wouldn't have had another child. They needed to move on after all, get over the grief of loosing him. But so soon after he had died? He certainly wasn't prepared for that. Better yet, why hadn't Piccolo of all people mentioned it to him? Was it part of an insane plan to make him stay longer? To get to know his little brother and bond with him? Well, right now it was only doing the opposite, and it took all his resolve not to leave the complex completely. To HFIL with the sodding prophecy.

 _"What do you think you're playing at kid?"_ Z's voice suddenly echoed in his ears.

"I don't know," Gohan managed to breathe out, resting the back of his head on the wall, "I didn't mean to act like that. I just… I needed to get away. I moved before I could think."

" _Too right you didn't think! Teleporting like that I ask you! Anyone could have seen that little trick of yours_ ," The old relic berated him, " _And I thought you wanted to keep incognito!_ "

"I do, sorry," he mustered, cringing as he knew that Z was right, "This was a bad idea, I shouldn't have come."

" _Anyone with half a brain cell could have told you that lad,_ " he scoffed, " _Now what do you say we find Prince Vegeta and get some answers so you can hurry up and take Videl back and get to some smooching before we have to leave!"_

"Give it a rest will you?" The halfling growled, causing Z to chuckle before silence encompassed them.

Several birds flew overhead as the sun began to set. He watched it for a while, his breathing steadily returning back to normal as the orange orb started to dip below the horizon in the distance, streaks of violet and amber marring the sky, the music and laughter from the garden still ringing in his ears.

"I can't believe that they had another kid," Gohan said finally, to no one in particular, his chest growing tight again.

" _Well what did you expect sonny boy?"_ Z chirped, though there was a solemness to his tone, " _Life moves on after all, it doesn't wait for the dead."_

"Yeah," he replied sadly, the sunset casting shadows on the grass, "You're right."

"Who are you talking to out here?"

Gohan jumped a mile, as a voice reached his ears. He was definitely starting to loose a hold on his senses, Whis would crack him round the head with his sceptre for that if he found out. He whirled around, panic taking ahold of him once more as the familiar, strong silhouette of his father rounded the corner, walking towards him, the glowing amber sky illuminating his features.

He held his breath in anticipation. As vivid, dark memories of the last time he had seen his father entered his mind. He remembered the orange clad hero saying goodbye, protectively standing in between the bulbous Cell and the young super saiyan two. Gohan painfully remembered the utter agony he was in due to his battle injuries, but it was nothing, nothing compared to the feeling of his heart tearing apart as he watched his father disappear from the battle field with Cell, knowing full well that doom awaited him. And it was all Gohan's fault. Yet despite his impending death, his father had died with a smile, and expressed how proud he was of the son that had surpassed him, to become the next hero of Earth.

But the young saiyan was not the hero his father thought he was. He had failed him. Heroes didn't kill their fathers, they didn't allow those they loved to step into a fight that they had inexcusably prolonged just for revenge, to feel the twisted satisfaction of bones breaking underneath his fists, the tainted smell of blood, the tearing of flesh, to see Cell's fuchsia eyes widen in terror. Nor did they let them face a villain who they had purposely baited and tortured into a desperate act that had threatened the very planet that they were supposed to protect. Gohan remembered the all encompassing guilt, the rage and grief that overtook his entire being the moment that his father teleported away. He wished, oh how he wished that he had taken his father's place instead.

Little did he know that his wish would be granted, just not in the way he had expected. And now the young Destroyer was stood across from his father again, but instead of the man looking at him with eyes full of love and pride, did he find that those obsidian orbs haunted and dishevelled. Just like his mother, Goku looked rather worn too. He wore a sky blue suit and tie instead of his usual training clothes, although he noticed the bright orange gi poking out underneath his shirt, just incase the rest of the gang fancied a spar he presumed. His father didn't look as aged as the rest of the Z-Fighters, thanks to those youthful saiyan genes. Other than some slight differences, the only real notion that any time had passed was that Gohan was now so tall he could now look his father directly in the eyes.

The first thing he wanted to do was bowl him over in a fierce hug and then proceed to cry his eyes out like a baby, the panic subsiding as soon as he beheld the hero that had raised him for the first eleven years of his life. But he didn't, he had to keep his resolve, and regard his father like a stranger.

Just as Goku was regarding him.

There was no recognition in his eyes. No happiness, no love directed towards him. But why? Piccolo had recognised him instantly, but his father had not. Had his beloved old mentor been right, had Son Goku truly given up? Had he pushed all thoughts of ever seeing his son again to the back of his mind, believing that it was so impossible that he couldn't even comprehend the fact that the young man standing before him was at all reminiscent of his first born?

Gohan knew it was selfish of him, careless even, but there was a part of him that wished that his father would recognise him.

"Pardon?" he asked as he approached, noticing that he held a glass of something strong smelling in his hand. Since when did his father drink?

"Oh, it's just that I heard someone having a conversation, and when I saw it was just one person I got curious," he stated, smiling at him, "Don't mind me, I'm just hiding from my wife. She's a little mad."

The smile was so charismatic and genuine, it made the teen want to just blurt out everything. His father had always had that effect on people. He always knew what to do, how to help, how to bring out the best in people. What he wouldn't give for his father's advice right now.

"I uh," Gohan started, quickly loosing his nerve, "I talk to myself a lot."

"Me too."

Phew, nice save.

"Well, I tell my wife that," Goku shrugged, taking a sip of his drink, the ice clinking against the glass, "Really I'm talking to Gohan."

Ouch, right in the feels.

"I'm sorry," the young saiyan said sincerely, "I'm sorry about your son."

"Thanks," his father smiled sadly, holding out a hand for him to shake, "You're Videl's friend right?"

Gohan nodded, taking his father's hand in his. No sooner had he did so, did a bolt of electricity jolt between their fingertips. He gulped, though he was slightly startled. He wondered if his father had noticed.

"Strong grip you've got there," Goku observed, pulling his hand away, "Are you a martial artist?"

"Eh, I dabble," he shrugged, averting his eyes away.

"That's great!" the saiyan beamed, "We're all having a spar later, if you want to join in."

"Oh trust me, I really don't think I'm in you're league," said Gohan truthfully.

Goku laughed, "Aw don't worry, we'll go easy on you. It would be great to see what my student's friend can do!"

The young saiyan nearly choked, "D-did you say student?"

"Yeah, didn't Videl tell you?" his father frowned in confusion, cocking his head to one side, "After the whole Buu thing, she wanted to get stronger so I offered to train her. She comes over every week for a spar and some training. Goten, my other son, loves her."

Gohan could do nothing but stare, he literally couldn't have picked a worse person to bump into at his grave.

Suddenly, Goku's eyes widened, "Videl _has_ told you about Buu hasn't she?"

"Oh yeah," the teen nodded, "I know all about it."

"Phew," he sweated, "Good, I thought I had said something I shouldn't have then. Vegeta wouldn't have been too happy about that one!"

"Where is Vegeta?" Gohan blurted suddenly, causing his father to frown, "I mean er, Videl's told me loads about him. He seems like a really interesting person to talk to."

Goku stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter, "Well interesting is one word for him! Sorry kiddo but Vegeta's not really one for conversation. You'd have a hard time trying to get anything out of that man, trust me on this one!"

The teenager pouted, trying to think of an excuse to go off and find the hot headed prince when his father suddenly threw a strong arm over his shoulder.

"But hey if you want to meet some more of Videl's friends then why don't I introduce you?"

Gohan's eyes widened, as Goku continued to guide him back towards the main party, "Uh I don't think that's a good id-!"

But it was too late. For the teenager was half way through protesting when Yamcha's voice cut through the air, the rest of the gang having spotted Goku dragging a rather frantic teenager across the grass. In all honesty, Gohan could have easily broken out of his father's hold, though it would looked incredibly suspicious if the gang saw a seemingly weak teen escape the iron grasp of their strongest warrior.

"Oi Goku! There you are!" Yamcha called, "We were starting to wonder where you'd gotten to. Chi-Chi has been looking for you everywhere!"

"Probably a good call he was hiding," joked Oolong, "She was riled up about the state of Goten's suit. Did you take your eyes off him again Goku?"

The man in question laughed heartily, "Maybe."

"Whose the kid?" Tien asked suddenly, as they became all too aware of the young man standing awkwardly next to their friend.

"Oh this is Beerus!" Goku chimed happily, causing the teenager to cringe, "He's Videl's friend."

"Don't you mean _boyfriend_?" Krillin teased, as the girl rolled her eyes from where she was sat next to him.

"Oh stop it Krillin, he's just a friend," she explained, poking at her plate of food with her fork, "I already told you, we only met two days ago. He's had amnesia ever since The Cell Games, I'm trying to help him get back to his family if you must know."

"He's the kid I was telling you about," said Eighteen, "You know, the one that protected Marron from those thugs."

"Hi Mister Unicorn!" the girl chimed happily from the table, waving at him.

The teenager's cheeks burned with embarrassment, as the gang regarded him curiously.

"Oh right!" said Krillin with a beaming smile, "Thanks for looking out for her man."

"It was nothing, really," Gohan replied with a shrug, trying to deter suspicion, "I suppose I was just in the right place at the right time. I er didn't really do anything, they eventually passed out from the fumes from the car bomb."

"Yes Videl was just telling us all about it, but even so it was very brave of you to stand up to such violent gang members like that," the blue haired woman gushed from Tien's side, before running up to him and shaking his hand, "My name is Launch by the way, and this is my husband Tien. Though these troublesome fellows and I go a long way back, especially Goku and Krillin."

Gohan's eyes widened, returning the handshake. He remembered his father talking about a woman named Launch from his adventures as a kid, apparently she had a personality disorder that was borderline terrifying, though he reasoned that he should be safe as long as he didn't do anything to make her sneeze. She and Tien must have reconnected somehow over the past eight years. It was good to see that the usually stoic man had found some happiness in his life and settled down.

"Er, nice to meet you," he mustered, as Goku began to introduce him to the rest of the gang.

It was strange, that was a given, being introduced to the people who he had known for all his life and called family. Though although he was somewhat relieved that they didn't recognise him, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"So amnesia huh? That's rough kid," observed Krillin, handing him another beer as his father put his hands on his shoulders and practically forced him into a seat, "Though Videl was saying you remembered that you were a friend of Gohan's?"

The young saiyan almost choked on his drink, as the gang looked at him expectedly.

"Um yeah, Gohan and I go way back," he mustered weakly, recovering from his coughing fit.

"Oh really?" his father blinked, "I didn't know that Gohan had any friends his own age."

"Yeah," Yamcha said solemnly, "He never really got chance to just be a kid did he? What with the world ending every five minutes. I'm glad he had a friend."

Gohan frowned, did they blame themselves for him not knowing anything but battle all his life? He had never even thought of his childhood like that. He had a lot of happy memories after all.

"From what he used to tell me he had loads of friends," the teenager stated boldly, causing them to look at him in confusion, "He never stopped going on about you lot and his adventures. He had a happy life, so don't think otherwise."

His old friends smiled at that, looking a little relieved.

"You seem to know a lot about him, but I never heard of him talk about anyone called Beerus," said Goku, "He only used to hang around with Icarus from what I know."

"That bloody dragon!" Yamcha laughed, "I almost forgot about that!"

"I certainly haven't," growled Master Roshi, "That little bastard used to chew up my precious reading material whenever Gohan would come to visit Kame House with him."

The gang burst into laughter at that, and the young saiyan couldn't help but laugh along with them. His heart feeling a little lighter, just like old times.

"Serves you right," Chi-Chi huffed, having caught the end of the conversation as she joined them and shooting a glare at the lot of them, "You should never have left those dirty magazines of yours lying around when Gohan was there. My precious baby boy could have quite easily picked them up and been scarred for life!"

"Nah I caught him with one once, he was fine Chi-Chi," said Krillin offhandedly, causing Gohan to gape angrily at him. He had to refrain himself from slapping him for being so uncouth.

"W-what?" his mother spluttered, eyes wide, "What do you mean you _caught_ him with one of those vile things?!"

"Aw come on Chi-Chi, it's not that big of a deal," shrugged Yamcha, though he failed to hide his amusement, "He was a growing boy at the time, he just got curious is all."

The young saiyan wished the ground would swallow him whole, he couldn't even look Videl in the eye, though he could hear her snickering along with the others. Even his grandfather was snorting into his champagne. He remembered the incident all too clearly. It was in the run up to The Cell Games when his mother and father shooed him out of the house for some alone time and he would be 'babysat' by Krillin, Roshi and Yamcha at Kame House. He had grown a lot in the year he had spent in The Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and as such was starting to experience changes in his body and beginning to notice girls. Curiosity got the better of him and although the eleven year old was certainly wise beyond his years, he was not tactful enough to not get caught flicking through one of Roshi's magazines by Krillin and Yamcha in one of the spare bedrooms. He had been embarrassed beyond belief, though his father's friends had thankfully been understanding of the situation and seen the funny side of it, albeit rather shocked at the time. After a rather _detailed_ lecture on the birds and the bees that had the poor boy blushing bright crimson, they had promised not to tell any one else, as long at the preteen vowed not to sneak around in the future.

As his friends recounted the details of the story with booming laughter, Gohan could all but sit there and silently fume. Traitors.

"Yeah I wondered why he was being so quiet all of a sudden," Krillin chuckled, as Yamcha wiped the tears from his eyes.

"I thought he just needed help with his homework or something," the baseball player snorted, "You can imagine our surprise when we walked in on him gawping at glamour models instead of math problems!"

"He even tried to hide it behind his back didn't he? Cheeky little bugger!" laughed Krillin, shaking his head in amusement as the rest of the table erupted again, though his mother did not look impressed.

"He'd be a right little stud now I bet you, not like you were at his age Goku," said Bulma, causing his father to frown.

"What do you mean?" he pouted.

"Mate, you thought marriage was food, enough said," said Yamcha with a roll of his eyes, sending the table into hysterics.

Even Chi-Chi chuckled, before turning to the red faced teenager, her onyx eyes narrowing dangerously at him, "So where did you meet my Gohan? I would have thought he would have at least mentioned you, unless you were the type to get him into trouble."

"Er, no ma'am" Gohan hesitated, beginning to sweat underneath her glare, "I er-"

"He might not remember just yet Chi-Chi, his memories are still a little hazy, right Beerus?" chimed Videl, saving his skin.

"Y-yeah sorry," he informed the gang, "I remember him, but my memory still isn't great."

"Thats okay Beerus," his father smiled, "I'm sure your memory will come back soon enough, Dende is a great healer."

"Yeah, thanks," he said lowly, averting his eyes to the table cloth, praying that they didn't ask him any more questions.

Luckily, when they realised that they weren't going to get anything out of the strange young man, the conversation soon changed to fighting styles and techniques, whilst his mother, Bulma and Launch complained about their punch happy husbands in an amused manner. Gohan kept silent, instead listening to the conversations around him, thankfully, Videl and supplied him with a tantalising plate of food to keep him occupied. As he sat listening, he managed to piece together snippets of what had happened to the Z-gang in his absence, and it was crazy to think how much the their lives had changed. As well as Krillin getting married and having a child, he worked for the police like Videl, though held an esteemed position in South City where the small family had moved to. Yamcha's baseball career had taken a huge leap as well as his bachelor status and his lust for training, and he and Puar we're currently touring the world with the Titans, although had apparently taken time out so he could attend the reunion.

As well as reuniting with an old flame, Tien had opened his own successful martial arts dojo with Chaiozu and the three lived deep in the Northern mountains. Master Roshi still lived with Oolong and Turtle on his tropical island in the South, forever living the easy life. Bulma, Vegeta and Trunks remained at Capsule Corp., and with Bulma's busy schedule as CEO, Vegeta had become every inch the doting father to Trunks and according to Bulma, would spend hours training with the boy in the high tech gravity simulator that Bulma had developed. Though from what he gathered, some of his parenting methods were…questionable.

His mother and father continued to prosper in their little home in Mount Paozu with their new son, with his father keeping up with his gruelling training schedule whilst throwing himself into his work as a farmer. He was glad to hear that his mother had finally gotten the man to hold down a proper job, albeit a strange concept to grasp for the young saiyan.

The only persons missing from the table were Vegeta, Piccolo and thankfully Majin Buu. He didn't understand why his old mentor hadn't joined them, even though he could sense him a ways off, keeping his distance. He couldn't help but think that maybe there was still tension between him and his father, even after their fight a few years ago. Though he supposed he would have to wait to find out.

Slowly but surely, the crowd started to dwindle, Roshi, Krillin and Yamcha had become rather raucous, and the majority of the group were variably intoxicated, the music still hammering in their ears. Gohan had refrained from drinking more than a couple of beers, for want of not letting anything slip. It was getting late, the velvet sky was littered with glistening stars, though the bright lights and pollution from the city made the stars rather difficult to see.

"And then, then do you remember?" Krillin laughed, tears in his eyes as he recounted the story, all eyes upon him, "He called Cell out for turning his back on him, saying he must have got those 'shit for brain cells from Frieza'!"

The gang roared with laughter, as the teenager could all but sink into his seat. They had been discussing The Cell Games for the last twenty minutes, and even though they had all been present, the lot of them were on the edge of their seats as the smaller fighter recounted the epic battle.

"I'd never heard that kid swear in my life! The look on Cell's face was priceless!" he chuckled, as Yamcha piped up enthusiastically.

"Who does that really?" he said in amusement, "Half dead, insulting two evil bastards in one before unleashing the biggest Kamehameha wave I've ever seen and destroying the enemy!"

"One handed too," said Tien with a grin.

"Great Kami I miss that kid," Krillin sighed, leaning back in his seat and casting his gaze out into the stars.

"We all do Krillin," said Master Roshi, looking rather solemn.

Gohan gulped down the lump in his throat, the all encompassing guilt threatened to suffocate him once more. He just wanted to scream _I'M RIGHT HERE!_ But he knew that it would be foolish. They couldn't know he was here, it would make everything far too complicated. He didn't want them to get hurt. He looked towards his father, who was busy staring into his empty glass, watching the ice melt. He hadn't said anything in a while, not since they had started talking about The Cell Games, and the young saiyan couldn't help but notice the pain evident in his eyes.

Slowly, he stood up, gaining the attention of the table.

"I'll be right back, excuse me," he said, catching Videl's curious gaze before hurrying away from the table.

He needed to find Vegeta, and quickly, attempting to focus all of his energy on his mission, mainly for want of not looking at his father's haunted eyes for a moment longer. Yet unfortunately he was drawing a blank, he suddenly couldn't sense the saiyan prince's energy anywhere. He frowned, was he masking it?

He was half way across the garden, when he spotted the children playing on the grass, their laughter ringing in his ears as they chased each other over the flower beds. He sought out Trunks immediately, that purple mop of hair far too unmistakable to miss, all too reminiscent of the young man he had met with the same name, the one from an apocalyptic future. The young boy, who was nine years old by his estimation bellowed as he tackled Goten to the ground. Goten, his estranged little brother yelped with glee, before rolling them over and sending them tumbling down the small hill that let back to the dance floor below. Marron was hot on their heels, her blonde wisps of hair whipping about her face as she leapt on top of them, the trio a tangle of limbs and laughter.

He stopped, watching them for a while, as they careened to a halt in front of the Z-gang's table, who chuckled at the children's antics, a tickle fight now ensuing between them. Gohan sighed to himself, the adults may not have been so accepting of his death, but it seemed as though the next generation was something different altogether. And eventually that would be what mattered. He still was a little unsure of his feelings towards his little brother, though it seemed that peace was rife with him - with them. And even though the young saiyan was sad not to be apart of it anymore, he felt as though his death had been worth it. For if he had never had sacrificed himself, his family and friends might never had lived like this.

He was still watching them, contemplating whether or not to help himself to more food when he felt a strong presence behind him. The teenager whirled around, his eyes narrowing when he was greeted with the beady eyes and smiling face of Majin Buu.

"What do _you_ want?" he glowered, his eyes darting around him, though he was thankful that the Z-gang were too distracted to hear. Good or not, Gohan was still not a fan of Buu. He had heard too many horrific stories of the creature that had been created by the vengeful Perses, and for some reason, the pink blob didn't seem to take the hint that he didn't want to be around him.

"Boy strong," Buu chirped happily, "Why does boy not want to fight Buu?"

"Shh!" Gohan growled, "Shut up will you, I'm not strong!"

"Boy very strong," he replied, cocking his head to one side, "Buu can see what others can't. Boy hiding his power. Buu wants to know why!"

"It's not of your business," he griped, "Now buzz off will you?"

"Boy mean," Buu pouted, "Buu want to fight!"

"Well tough luck," the young saiyan spat, turning on his heel, "You'll have to find someone else to fight."

"Boy stronger!" the Majin said louder, "Buu want to fight boy!"

"Will you _stop that_!" he snarled, narrowing his eyes at him, and attempting to keep his voice to a whisper, "You're giving the game away!"

"Game?!" Buu gasped, his dark eyes practically sparkling with glee, "Buu like games! Boy play with Buu!"

"No you idiot!" he hissed, slapping a hand to his face out of despair, "I'm not playing with you! Just stop it and go and play with someone else!"

Though Buu seemed angry at this, and frowned, "No! Boy don't tell Buu what to do! Buu turn you into candy and eat you!"

"I swear to you, you ugly piece of overgrown bubblegum," Gohan growled, stepping closer to the Majin, "If you try to fight me, you'll regret it."

"Buu not ugly!" He gasped, his fat chins wobbling, steam protruding out of the holes in his head.

"I'd watch that temper of yours if I were you Majin Buu," the young Destroyer smirked, unable to help himself, "Wouldn't want you to bust that fat gut of yours."

And then, everything happened at once. Majin Buu's Ki spiked dangerously, his anger getting the better of him as he aimed a deadly punch towards the halfling. Though Gohan was too fast for him, and reacting in an instant, tapped a few of his pressure points, completely paralysing him and causing him to crash to the ground in a pitiful heap. The impact of Buu's bulbous body was so great that it rocked the ground around them, and Gohan stared down at the brute with a hateful gaze.

"Beerus? What happened?!"

The teenager looked up, as he noticed the entire Z-gang hurrying towards them, on high alert as they had quite obviously felt Buu's energy rise to an incredible height before it depleted to almost nothing. They stared at him in shock, the seemingly unconscious Majin Buu at his feet. He didn't panic, as Gohan was certain that he had moved too fast for them to see what he had done.

"Um looks like he just passed out!" said Gohan with an innocent smile, as they looked at him with bewildered expressions, "Yep, Buu told me that he had a tummy ache before he hit the ground. He must have gotten sick from all those pudding cups he ate. Talk about a literal sugar crash, am I right?"

They blinked, though seemed to accept his answer, as Mister Satan groaned behind them. "Oh poor Buu, that's the third time he's done this. I don't know how I'm going to get him back home, I might need some help getting him into the car."

"No problem Mister Satan," he heard his father call, "We'll help. Buu's pretty heavy when he's sleeping."

As the gang started to mutter and accept his explanation, Gohan took his opportunity to bend down and nudge the Majin with his toe.

"Listen here you git," he whispered lowly, "I know you can hear me. I purposely left you conscious so that I can warn you. See, I've paralysed every atom in your body, if you try to fight me or dob me in again then I'll make sure those atoms of yours disappear, which means that you'll cease to exist. Good or not Majin Buu, you'll regret trying to challenge a Destroyer. Am I clear?"

"Boy clear! Boy clear!" Buu managed to squeak through slightly parted lips, his eyes widened in terror.

"Good," Gohan smirked, and suddenly Buu was back on his feet, causing the gang to gasp.

"Oh look he's up again!" said the teen with a smile, "Looks like you can all go back to enjoying the party now."

"Buu, are you alright?" Mister Satan asked tentatively, walking up to them and taking him by the shoulders.

The pink creature nodded firmly, before glaring at the halfling and stomping away from the confused group, Hercule hurrying along after him. The gang gazed curiously at the Majin's odd behaviour, before shrugging and moving back towards their table. He caught Piccolo's eye through the small crowd, who gave him a look that said _we'll talk later_ before he moved away. Breathing a sigh of relief, Gohan turned, almost bumping into Videl who was eyeing Buu's retreating back suspiciously.

"What's up with him?" she frowned.

"Dunno," he shrugged offhandedly, before turning towards her, "Care for a dance?"

The girl blinked, "A dance?"

"Who knows? I might be able to remember a few moves," He grinned back at her, before she allowed him to pull her by the hand and onto the dance floor.

Well, that was one way of covering his tracks he thought, as they disappeared into the throngs of party goers, an upbeat Charleston reaching their ears as it blasted over the speakers. Little did he notice the dark, spikey haired figure watching him intently from the shadows, who had seen every part of his exchange with Majin Buu.

* * *

 _26th October, 2018._

* * *

 **Reviews**

Robthekiwi121 : yeah I thought it would be nice having Piccolo and Dende finding out first. They are incredibly smart and perceptive, and Gohan thought that as guardian of Earth (knowledge of God hierarchy!) he would know a bit about the SSG. hope you enjoyed their interaction!

MadmanJrs: Haha yes Gohan does make a very comfy pillow! hope you enjoyed the gohan and videl interactions in this chapter. and happy you enjoyed Piccolo's reaction. Gohan's reaction to Goten will definitely be further explored in later chapters ;)

romanovascap : thanks so much for your review! yes I always had it in mind that Piccolo would be the first to truly notice.

Pie 555: thank you very much! I am so excited for Vegeta and Gohan interaction. I hope I don't disappoint as I have certainly built up the suspense towards it!

Beta117 : Gohan isnt British, but I am so I just write that way. I find it makes my writing flow a lot easier, as I can't pretend to know americanisms, I tried that in early writing in my younger years and found it just didnt work for me!

Guest : thank you!

halfbreedsayian: thank you so much! so glad you're enjoying it!

FireEmblemMaster101: ooh yes totally expect a big clash in later chapters. I have lots of ideas regarding 'spars' and showcasing Gohan's power and strength!

X3runner: Thanks for your review! Yeah I decided to keep the Z-Fighters training as in dragonball they always seemed to have so much more motivation when Goku was around to train and get stronger. When Goku died in the original series after the cell games, everyone seemed to settled down and accept that no Goku equalled no bad guys. They were wrong, obviously, and got weak and the majority became irrelevant. I wanted to change that. I think that Piccolo would be much much stronger, especially considering there's this tension between him and Goku, and with Gohan gone it would only fuel his motivation. And in regards to Vegeta's reaction to gohan, that will be coming soon so I dont want to reveal anything just yet! Also, I think Gohan would be able to deal with the SSG transformation much better than Goku as like you say he has been training to deal with god ki for a while now.

Liltye504: exciting!

EleazarTheUnforgotten: aw I'm so glad! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

JulesSOD27 : thank you!

Aaron Leach : thanks!

keyblademeister88: I know I totes feel sad for Piccolo :'( As you can see from this chapter, the gang didnt recognise him, and I know it may seem strange to some people. But like Goku, it seems as though they have truly given up on finding Gohan again, plus gohan was a child when he died, he's nineteen now, and has a warriors built. He would be very difficult to recognise.

Guest: (Erin) thank you so much for your review! Love it! To be fair I am a sucker for it too. So expect to see more romance later in the story ;) ;)

Glocs: I am so excited for this.

HKGlenstid : thanks for your review, sorry you felt as though Gohan's reveal was a bit of a let down. However, I didnt want a huge reaction from Piccolo, more of an emotional one. This is partly because I wanted Piccolo to be the first to find out, but also have a much much bigger dramatic reveal to Gohan later in the story. I have it all planned out ;)

Lightningblade49: I cannot wait to reveal fireworks!

Reactef : thank you!

ashlovesdbz: haha this was my thoughts exactly thank you for your review! In all honesty, I dont think my parents would recognise me to my eleven year old self.

LEO LOVER 2016: hope you enjoyed!

victor0606 : thank you!

Iwik: thank you so much for your review! Really nice to read that you are getting everything that I am trying to put across in this story! xD and yes you did call it, it did end up in Videl's bed! :)

Tealgryffin: thank you so much

Naite-Laef: oh dear I recommend a box of tissues for all the feels!

Darkmehameha : we shall see...

memmek10k: aw thank you!

mubaarik4858 : thank you! Nah sorry I'm not going to give Goten a twin, I think it would be too much to put on Gohan, he will have enough to deal with ;)

Vile Twitch: thank you!

Masquer Q : so glad youre enjoying it!

Star1X : hmm yes I think there is a bit of unhappiness from Piccolo there. He had to grow up to quickly, and now this duty has pulled him away from his family and friends on Earth. There is definite conflict there with Piccolo.

WiffleDick678: and you shall have it my friend!

DragonCrusader : thank you! and don't worry, it's only a bit of snogging. Gohan is too dutiful for messing around so much with the ladies at the moment!


	13. The Devil and The Prince

_A/N: Hello dear readers and happy December! I am so incredibly sorry that it has taken me so long to update! I have been SUPER busy with work and family and friends etc it has taken me a while to sit down and just be able to write. I know this chapter and reaction in particular has been long anticipated and I hope I did it justice, though I dont think I did it in the way most expected! :') Now, before we start, I have a few things to clear up as I have had a couple of questions about the last chapter and to be honest I was anticipating it..._

 _1) A few of you avid readers have asked how the Z-gang and particularly Goku and Chi-Chi don't recognise Gohan. I know, I get you I really do, how can parents especially a mother not recognise their own child? In normal circumstances I'd be totally on your side, I do get where you are coming from, and of course there is always going to be an element of that. HOWEVER, when the gang last saw Gohan he was 11 years old. Now Gohan is presenting himself as a 19 year old young man. That is a huge huge difference for a start. Also, at the age of 11 Gohan was quite shy and reclusive whereas this version of Gohan because of his experiences and more importantly his position carries himself differently, is more confident etc which will become more evident to the z gang as the story continues. Now another thing what somebody pointed out was his resemblance to Goku, and that his mother wouldn't forget him etc etc. Once again I get it but the spin I am trying to get on it and what I wanted to get across is that it is so INCREDIBLY SAD that his parents don't recognise him. Like heartbreakingly so for everyone involved. The fact that it is so inconceivable to Goku and Chi-Chi and so impossible to them that their little boy can come back from wherever the hell the eternal dragon (huge deal right?!) can't reach him that they cannot even comprehend the fact that this young man standing in front of them really was in any way shape or form their son. Surely if he came back he would be young? would he really lie to them too? I doubt the Gohan they knew would. This is why it is so sad, because they gave up hope that they would ever see their son again. Piccolo on the other hand, didn't give up, and recognised him. I know some things may seem a little far fetched and I understand that, but hey its fanfiction ;) :P_

 _2) some people have asked why Gohan is British. Well, he isnt, nor are any of the characters. I am British, and therefore find it easier to write in such a way to allow my writing to flow better. I will not pretend to use the americanisms or Japanese language that is used in the anime and the show because I just dont write that way and never have. So sorry if its off putting for some people, but once again it it fanfiction and this is my story with characters that have american accents in the show yes but I have changed it to my own writing style. Maybe it has a few too many bloody hells and snogging references for some, but Harry Potter is a huge hit right?! Hope that clears that one up :)_

 _So thank you so so much again, I cannot believe that this story is up to 845 followers! The pressure is on now to get this right! haha!_

 _I really hope the wait has been worth it. ES :) x_

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen**

 **The Devil and The Prince**

 **xxxx**

The music blared loudly in his ears, his feet tapping and moving in motion to the beat as he and Videl whirled around the dance floor. Gohan had absolutely hated the dance lessons that his mother had enforced on him in those three years of training before the androids appeared, stating that he had to do something other than solid fighting to enrich his mind if his studies were to be abandoned. Of course he had a choice at first, his mother being a royally stern yet ultimately fair woman, and it was either learn to play the violin or ballroom dancing classes. Though eventually the late night practising of a very screechy Mozart's concerto three was enough to make Piccolo, his father and his mother choose for him - so ballroom dancing it was. None of the other Z-Fighters had found out of course, and he had sworn his father and Piccolo to secrecy, the fact that he spent every Sunday afternoon dancing with doddery old women in a nearby village hall was something that he had most certainly taken to the grave. The memory of having his cheeks pinched over and over again by haggard, tobacco smelling fingers was enough to make him shudder. Though his lessons had certainly come in handy when the young Destroyer had been shown off at grand balls and events that Whis and Lord Beerus had taken him to.

He hadn't practiced for a couple of years mind, though he seemed to remember the steps quite easily. The fact that he was well accomplished in martial arts only enhanced the fluidity of his moments and Videl seemed most impressed. He couldn't help but feel rather smug at that, it was safe to say that the girl was a little shocked to meet a teenage boy who could dance so well.

"You seem as though you've done this a million times," she told him with a playful smile and flustered cheeks after he had twirled her around once more, catching her by the waist. The silkiness of her dress brushing against his fingertips.

Gohan shrugged, smirking a little, "Once or twice actually."

"You remember?" Videl quirked up at him, their bodies close as they danced. He caught the faint smell of alcohol on her breath, it was warm and inviting, and almost as intoxicating as her eyes.

"Some things are coming back to me," he told her with a shrug before twirling her around again, several people gasping around them as they forced a few dancing couples to move out of their path.

The Satan girl laughed, her long raven hair whipping about her from the momentum before he caught her, his fingers intertwining with hers, his arm wrapping around her petite waist and pulling her closer to him.

She was a little breathless as she looked up at him, her heels long abandoned at the side of the dance floor, making her over a head shorter than him. They had been dancing for a while, her chest heaving as she caught her breath. Gohan too was having difficultly catching his, but certainly not for the same reasons.

"So, how many girlfriends have you had?" she asked suddenly, causing him to nearly halt in his tracks.

The teenager blinked, "What sort of a question is that?"

"I'm not stupid Beerus," Videl said dangerously, leaning even closer to him, he wasn't entirely sure whether or not she was doing it on purpose, but their noses were almost touching, "You don't mean to tell me that you've never been in a relationship when you can dance like this?"

Gohan cleared his throat awkwardly, before shaking his head 'no'.

It was true, the young saiyan had not even had anything close to what he would call a girlfriend. He had danced with a couple of princesses at the ceremonial gatherings where he, Lord Beerus and Whis had been invited. But that was more out of duty than pursuing feelings, only one had led to a rather clumsy snogging session behind a tapestry, and that was a few years ago now, he was rather ashamed to admit that he didn't even remember the alien girl's name though she had been strikingly beautiful. Other than that he had flirted with a few warriors and barmaids on planets he had visited, only to go as far as heated snogging and messed up clothes. He could pursue nothing further even if he wanted to. He could not indulge himself with such things when training to become a God of Destruction, there simply was not time or chance for commitment. Whis would have his head for a start. And he was oblivious to the few encounters with females that Gohan did have... as far as he knew.

Videl scoffed, grasping his palm tighter and causing them to sway again, "I find that hard to believe."

"You do?" he chuckled, though he was unsure of what she was getting at. Maybe she just wanted to know more about him. Unfortunately for Videl, his none existent love life wasn't all that interesting. "How so?"

"You we're in a hospital Beerus, not a nunnery," she said with a roll of her eyes and causing him to laugh, "You're handsome, funny, and so what if you're a little bit of a weirdo? Some people find that endearing. I bet you've got girls falling all over you."

"I haven't said they weren't," he mustered devilishly, now opening flirting with her, "I just never really acted on it."

"Ah I get it," Videl nodded, a satisfied smile upon her lips as if she had just figured something out, "You don't swing that way."

"W-what?" The young saiyan blinked.

"You like boys," she said matter-of-factly, causing him to splutter.

"N-no! I love girls honest!" He said hotly, "I just wasn't allowed to act on it!"

Videl raised an eyebrow disbelievingly, "At the hospital?"

Gohan gulped, realising all to late her game, "Um, sure?"

She stared at him for a while, her eyes narrowing, "You're hiding something."

The teenager stopped dancing immediately, freezing up, "I am not."

"Are too."

"Why are you so nosy?" he growled, feeling tricked.

She smirked back, "Why are you so secretive?"

"I'm not secretive!" he protested.

"You're a liar then," she stated, folding her arms across her chest, the warmth of her body leaving him.

He glared back, trying to cover up the fact that he was nervous under her scrutinising gaze, "How so?"

Videl heaved a hefty sigh, " _Because_! You're a good looking, nineteen year old guy, so what's your reasoning for not having a girlfriend if you're not into men?"

Gohan breathed an internal sigh of relief, though he couldn't help but laugh at the girl's justification. And what was that about him being good looking?

He shrugged, giving her a wry smile, "Maybe I just haven't found the right girl yet."

She stared at him before rolling her eyes in distain, "You expect me to believe that bullshit?"

"Would you leave my love life out of this conversation if I say yes?" he quirked, causing her to sigh in defeat.

"Whatever," Videl griped, shoving him playfully as she started to lead them off the dance floor, grabbing her abandoned shoes as she went.

"So, what's your story?" he asked, following her to a nearby cooler and grabbing them a beer each.

"You mean why don't I have a boyfriend?" Videl huffed, eyeing him.

"Oi, you started this depressing conversation," said Gohan, smirking at her, which caused her to smile.

Taking a sip of her beer, the girl sighed, taking a seat at the table next to them, which was covered in empty glasses and plates, the previous occupants having left some time ago. The young saiyan took a place beside her on the wooden bench, their knees touching as they looked out onto the dance floor.

He blinked, following Videl's gaze and catching sight of his mother had father sharing a slow dance. They were talking quietly to one another, caught up in their own embrace. He watched, as Goku kissed Chi-Chi on top of her prematurely greying hair, before resting his chin upon it, swaying side to side under the blanket of stars. They were smiling, though there was no denying the aura of sadness that seemed to encompass them.

"I'm stupid when it comes to love," Videl said finally, causing the young Destroyer to look towards her, "I just can't seem to get the hang of it."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed once more, her eyes never leaving his parents, "Everyone I've ever gone out with only seem to be in it for money or fame. You know, sweeping the girl that Son Gohan saved off her feet so that they can be in magazines and on TV, or being in with the daughter of one of the world champions so that they can pursue their own self fulfilled martial arts career. I always think that the next one is different you know? But time after time, again and again I get hurt. It's the same pattern no matter how hard I try. I fall for them, they get what they're after and then leave, I couldn't tell you how many times I've had my heart broken by the same stupid self centred idiot, just with a different face."

"That's just... awful," said Gohan, twirling his beer in his palm. How could anyone not want Videl for _her_? How could anyone not see how utterly incredible she was?

"Tell me about it," she drawled, "It's why I've given up on dating for a while. My days are spent focussing on my training and career."

"Seems sensible," he replied, though he couldn't help but feel a little glum at the thought.

"Who knows?" Videl chuckled, casting her eyes above her, "Maybe one day the Gods will answer my prayers and send me the perfect guy from the stars."

Gohan couldn't help but suck in a breath, as the girl continued, "But for now, I suppose I'll just enjoy the single life."

The young saiyan chuckled, tapping his bottle with Videl's that she had held out to him in a salute.

"Yeah," he mustered, forcing a smile, "The single life."

"Hey nice moves kiddos!" A cheery voice sounded, belonging to Oolong who smiled brightly at them as he approached.

"Thanks Oolong," Videl smiled, as the pig continued.

"Your dad is looking for you Videl," he told her, "He and Buu are leaving soon, apparently Buu's still not feeling too well."

Gohan hid his snort of laughter behind a cough, knowing all too well the after affects of having your body paralysed like that. All your muscles and organs tensing up in such a debilitating way caused them to spring back and relax completely when released suddenly. The fat Majin would be visiting the bathroom quite a few times tonight by his reckoning.

Videl sighed, "Alright, I'll come and say goodbye. You coming Beerus?"

"Nah it's fine," he told her with a wicked smile, "I'll stay here and keep the bench warm for you."

She gave him a playful look, before following Oolong and disappearing into the crowd, leaving the teenager to his thoughts. Gohan sighed, absentmindedly picking off the label on his beer bottle. He really liked talking to Videl, she was smart, witty and funny and it was more evident then ever before after dancing with her that there was an attraction between them. The heat of her body against his, the feel of her waist beneath his fingertips, her sparkling eyes, her dazzling smile, it was enough to make him keel over all over again. He knew it was selfish, relishing in her presence like this. Though he reasoned that it was better that he stayed with Videl rather than sitting on a table listening to his family and friends talk about The Cell Games over and over.

He shook his head, placing his empty bottle on the table and getting to his feet with the aim of visiting the bathroom, deciding that Videl might be a little while and more than likely get caught up in conversation with the Z-gang on her way back to him. He knew the layout of Capsule Corp. off by heart, so it didn't take him long to locate one of the many bathrooms upstairs. When he was finished, he splashed his face with cold water, staring at his reflection in the mirror and willing himself to get a grip. He shouldn't be dancing and flirting with some girl he had just met when he was supposed to be finding out how to achieve the divine power of a Super Saiyan God. Turning off the tap begrudgingly, the teenager dried his hands and face on the soft towel next to him, before stepping out into the corridor.

He stopped short, glancing around him. That was odd, he could have sworn that the lights were on when he had walked down this way. The hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end, and it was evident to the young Destroyer that there was a disturbance in the air - and it was right behind him.

Gohan whirled around so fast that it seemed to somewhat startle his visitor, though he quickly recovered, and all the teen could do was look into the pair of hard obsidian eyes that positively glared at him, full of hatred.

"So, we meet again."

* * *

There had been a lot of moments in his life when Gohan knew that he was in deep trouble, the sort of trouble that when he was alive would cause his heart to perform a hundred beats in one. Moments where he knew that he was utterly, completely hopelessly screwed. He had experienced it time and time again, the same feeling of dread, the coiling sickness in his stomach. It would happen whenever he used to sneak out of the house without his mother's knowledge or permission, and he would have to face her wrath when he eventually returned. It happened when Raditz managed to stagger towards him, shock and fury in his eyes after Gohan had attacked him and cracked his seemingly impenetrable armour. It happened when Vegeta and Nappa first arrived on Earth, and when he, Krillin and Dende had summoned Porunga and Frieza had appeared before them. It happened when he had faced Frieza alone, when he thought his father dead and Planet Namek was about to explode. The same feeling surfaced when he had learned of the android attack that would be happening in three years, and of the dreadful fate that would befall the Z-Fighters. It happened when his father chose him to fight Cell, and again in the same battle when the vindictive bio-android nearly blew the Earth to smithereens and then when he returned and blasted a hole through the young saiyan's chest.

He had experienced it in his afterlife, when he had come back late from missions or explored space without Whis and Lord Beerus' permission. Moments when he was faced with difficult situations when he could only think of one daring way out that would most likely result in his end, like when that sun-sucking tentacled monster ate Alala on their first mission and Gohan had faced the ten-thousand toothed beast head on. Moments of fear, realisation and apprehension that would settle in his stomach like a deadweight.

This too was one of those moments.

And as Vegeta opened his mouth to speak again, the teenager could only allow the familiar feeling of dread to seep into the pit of his stomach, chasing away the butterflies that had been present ever since he had grabbed Videl's hand and pulled her onto the dance floor.

"I suggest we take this conversation elsewhere, it's plainly obvious that you don't want to be discovered," the prince said, keeping his voice low as he turned to open the door adjacent to him - oddly, the same spare bedroom that Gohan used to stay in when he would visit with his mother and father as a child, "Please, in here."

Before he could even contemplate the fact that Vegeta of all people was using pleasantries such as 'please', did the door snap firmly shut behind them, and the hot tempered prince was upon him in an instant.

"So tell me, what is your business on this planet?" he growled, his dark eyes hardening, the flashing lights from the party outside illuminating the small bedroom in a rhythmic motion. The music vibrating through the walls, albeit muffled.

It was then did Gohan mange to get a proper look at the saiyan prince. Like his father, he hadn't changed that much in terms of ageing thanks to youthful saiyan genes - it was Vegeta himself that had once informed him that saiyans retain their youth for much longer than other races to be able to maintain a warrior's lifestyle. Still, it was odd to see him dressed in normal Earthling clothes, though the smart black trousers and crisp white shirt and tie did nothing to hide his warriors physique. Nor deter from the domineering presence he had grown accustomed to as a young boy.

"Well?" he spat again, this time more harshly, "Aren't you going to say something? I doubt you're here just to sample Earth's cuisine. So, what is it?"

Vegeta's chest was heaving, his calloused fists clenched, as though he was preparing for a fight, Gohan had seen that heated look in his eyes far too many times to count. Though there was a hint of something else hiding within the pitch black orbs, something that the teenager couldn't quite believe he was seeing. Was it, fear?

"Vegeta," the young saiyan started tentatively, "You've got the wrong idea -"

"Aha!" he spouted, raising an accusatory finger towards him, "So you do remember me! Although I have to admit you look a lot different to how I remembered you Lord Beerus. What is this form? Some sort of shape shifting?"

Gohan could hardly believe his ears, his eyes widening in realisation, "Y-you know Lord Beerus?"

"Enough games!" Vegeta scoffed, before his eyes grew fierce, "If you are who you say you are then show yourself! If it's the planet you're after then I'd rather go down fighting the true Destroyer!"

"Vegeta it's not what it looks like!" the halfling mustered, panicking slightly, "I don't want to fight you!"

"Oh?" he chuckled darkly, "Well I'm afraid you don't have a choice _my Lord._ I'll show you the true power of the saiyan race whilst protecting this planet until my last dying breath!"

Oh shit. Gohan thought, as he felt the prince's power begin to rise.

"Vegeta wait! I'm not Lord Beerus!" he tried, stepping backwards, his shins hitting the back of the bed and causing him to nearly topple over.

"Oh you're not are you?" Vegeta glowered, "Then how do you explain what you did to Majin Buu? I heard every word, you called yourself a Destroyer. Just what are you trying to pull?!"

"I-it was a joke?" he squeaked, causing his elder to falter slightly.

"If you're not Lord Beerus then how do you know that name _boy_?!" Vegeta positively roared, the man was seething, though Gohan couldn't help but notice that the hint of fear in his eyes was growing into something more frantic, "You'd better tell me what the fuck is going on -! "

"I will Vegeta! Just hold on!" he cried, waving his arms in front of him as the man's power began to rise even further. Vegeta did not like being tricked, and it was evident that he and Lord Beerus had some kind of bad history. Why oh why did he think that choosing the name Beerus as his alias was a good idea?! He was such an idiot!

Gohan gulped as Vegeta took another dangerous step forwards, his power now on the cusp of transformation. And if the hot-tempered prince turned super saiyan, then he would most certainly be exposed. He did _not_ want his father and his friends bursting in as soon as Vegeta's energy reached the next level. He'd already had a close call tonight with Majin Buu.

"Well out with it!" Vegeta snapped, his energy growing rapidly, the bubbling anger of a super saiyan starting to unravel from within the depths of his Ki, "Or else I'll-!"

"Vegeta it's me!" the teenager yelled suddenly, halting the man in his tracks, "I-it's Gohan!"

There was a beat of silence, as Vegeta powered down, his obsidian eyes widening, drinking in the young man in front of him as he continued.

"I'm sorry Vegeta," he said breathlessly, "I only used the name Beerus because I didn't think anyone would know the name or what it meant so far out in the Northern galaxy."

"See?" Gohan offered a smile, waving off the concealment above his head to reveal his shining golden halo, proving his point, though the elder saiyan remained silent, "It really is me."

The full-bloodied saiyan continued to stare, his gaze darting to the halo momentarily, before locking his eyes with the teen once more. And then -

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

Now Gohan wasn't entirely sure want made him do it, maybe it was ingrained in him since the early memories of his childhood. For even though he knew that he could quite easily block or counter the attack due to his increased strength and divine training, there was something about the prince of all saiyans' aiming a punch straight towards him that told him to _move_.

He yelped out of pure instinct, dodging out of the way of Vegeta's oncoming fist that embedded into the wall where his head had previously been. The halfling's eyes widened, as Vegeta's head snapped towards him like something out of those horror films he had watched with Videl, his teeth bared as a tremendous growl escaped his chest. The man was positively seething with rage.

"Vegeta calm down!" Gohan shouted, swiftly ducking out of the way as the prince pulled his fist out of the wall, sending plasterboard flying over the carpet as he aimed another punch towards his skull.

"Calm down?!" he snarled, missing him again, "CALM DOWN?! You're telling me to calm down after what you've put me through?!"

"Vegeta wait - !" he cried, phasing out and reappearing behind him in an instant.

"Do you have ANY idea the amount of SHIT I've been through these past eight years, SEARCHING NIGHT AND DAY FOR YOUR SORRY BEHIND?!" Vegeta roared, not letting up, punching the bedside table clean apart as yet another punch missed it's target.

"Vegeta damn it!" the young Destroyer bellowed, as the wardrobe almost came crashing down upon him, "Will you just listen - eep! - for a bloody _minute_!"

Though the prince of saiyan's didn't seem to hear or to care, especially not about the utter destruction he was causing to his own house, as he rounded on the teenager again.

"DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT THE STATE YOU LEFT THIS MISERABLE WORLD IN?!" He cried, his limbs blurring in motion as Gohan narrowly dodged his swinging fists, "HOW MUCH CRAP I'VE HAD TO ENDURE FROM YOUR BLASTED PARENTS?! NOT TO MENTION THE NAMEKIAN! GODS ABOVE! IT WAS ENOUGH TO DRIVE ME INSANE!"

"What the hell are you on about?!" Gohan yelled, ducking underneath the raging prince as he made a grab for him, subsequently making him crash into the other side of the wall, leaving a sizeable crack in the brickwork.

"DON'T YOU GIVE ME THAT BULLSHIT!" He spat, recovering quickly, "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I'VE HAD TO LISTEN TO THE PATHETIC WALLOWING OF YOUR FATHER?! IF NOT HIM ITS THE WOMAN, YOUR HARPY MOTHER OR PICCOLO! 'OH FIND HIM VEGETA, PLEASE HELP US, HE'S SO SCARED AND INNOCENT AND ALONE! WHO KNOWS WHERE THE POOR BOY COULD BE!'"

The young saiyan's eyes widened in horror, as the prince leered towards him, spit flying from his mouth as he drew closer, "YET HERE YOU ARE, SKULKING ABOUT YOUR OWN DEATH DAY PARTY, DRINKING BEER AND _FLIRTING_ OF ALL THINGS!"

"Vegeta it's not what it looks like-!"

"DAMNED LAYABOUT BRAT!" He snarled, drawing back his fist once more where it all but embedded into the floorboards, "YOU'VE MADE NOTHING BUT A MOCKERY OUT OF ME!" **BOOM!** "WASTED MY TIME!" **CRASH!** "MOCKED MY PRIDE!" **THWACK!** "MADE ME ACTUALLY _WORRY_ ABOUT YOU!" **BAM!**

"Vegeta!"

Vegeta shrieked with rage as he missed again, his foot flying through the plasterboard, "I'LL KILL YOU BOY!"

"VEGETA STOP!" Gohan practically screamed, phasing back into view once more, though it was not the only cry that reached their ears.

The bedroom door suddenly flung off it's hinges, and a flash of green and white darted in between them, just as the saiyan prince aimed another swinging fist towards him.

"Stop this Vegeta!" Piccolo glowered, as Vegeta's punch stopped inches from his nose. Though he seemed unfazed, "Just let him explain."

A tense silence filled the room, before Vegeta moved his hand, his arm coming to rest by his side as he positively glared at the fellow Z-Fighter.

"Don't tell me what to do Namekian," he spoke harshly, his dark eyes averting to the halo topped teenager who had slid down the wall out of sheer relief, "I'll kill the damned brat all over again."

The bedroom was in complete disarray, plaster and brick littered the ground and the majority of the furniture was splintered and beyond repair. Gohan cringed, Bulma was going to have kittens when she saw the mess. Luckily, he couldn't sense any one else coming their way, Piccolo must have been keeping an eye on them he had surmised. Everyone else was probably too drunk by now to notice Vegeta's rise in power.

"Vegeta," the teenager started tentatively, getting to his feet, as Piccolo stepped back, "I'm sorry, I-"

"You will be," He snorted, cutting across him and folding his arms across his chest, "But we'll get to grovelling after you've explained yourself. What the hell are you doing here after all this time? Where have you BEEN?"

"Well I've been dead," he mustered weakly, attempting a joke to break the tension.

"Yes I did get that far by myself, brat," Vegeta drawled, looking pointedly at the halo dancing over his head.

"You might as well tell him Gohan," said Piccolo calmly, "He's not going to tell anyone."

"How do you know I won't?" said prince scoffed, eyeing him.

"Because if you were, you already would have punched him through the wall and exposed him to everyone," he smirked.

"Yeah, you're right I would have," Vegeta smirked back, before looking towards him, "Well then boy? Out with it."

Gohan sighed, as Piccolo gave him a nod of reassurance, "Well you obviously know about Lord Beerus, right?"

"The God of Destruction," Vegeta confirmed, before giving him an incredulous stare, "We crossed paths in my youth. He visited Planet Vegeta not long before it was destroyed, the saiyans were accosted by Lord Beerus to locate the universes' comfiest pillow. It may seem mundane now, but back then good silk was hard to come by and my father though a brilliant King was a very naive man, and after purging the planet he found it on, he attempted to keep it to himself and pawn another pillow off on Lord Beerus."

"What, really?" the teenager blinked disbelievingly, Lord Beerus had never mentioned it. Then again, with all the planets he had visited and subsequently threatened, he had most likely forgotten.

"It wasn't pretty let me tell you that," Vegeta nodded, "Though it seems odd to me that you were using a fearsome name like that so casually. What of him?"

"Well um," Gohan started carefully, unsure what Vegeta would make of his story now, especially as the Destroyer had done who knows what to King Vegeta, "When I died, I didn't end up in Otherworld, instead my soul was summoned by the Angel of this universe to another dimension. It's why Shenron couldn't reach me, and why you lot couldn't bring me back to life."

"Angel?" the saiyan frowned, " _This_ universe?"

"Yep, there are twelve universes, we are the seventh," he informed him, not giving him time to get over the revelation before swiftly moving on, "Anyway, these Angels are attendants to the Gods of Destruction and train them until the end of their life cycle. When their life cycle is nearing an end they draft mortal warriors to train on the Destroyer's world in order to compete to become the next Destroyer."

He paused, sucking in a breath as he watched the cogs in Vegeta's head turn and he let out a bark of laughter, "So you're one of these so called candidates? Give me a break."

The teenager frowned, though he had to admit that it would have seemed impossible for the once innocent cry baby that Vegeta had once known to become a candidate for the role of the most fearsome being in the universe. .

"And what?" the prince continued haughtily, "Let me guess, you've failed so you decided to come home with your tail in between your legs? What a load of -"

" _Actually,_ " Gohan cut across him, unable to stop the triumphant smirk that spread across his lips, "You're only part right. I _was_ one of the candidates, but after obtaining a significant amount of power and successfully retrieving a legendary sword that no one else in history has managed to free, I ended up being selected for the role of Junior Destroyer."

Vegeta stared, his eyes widening at the revelation.

"So you'd better watch how you talk to me Vegeta," the halfling quirked, folding his arms across his chest, "because you're looking at the next God of Destruction."

The look of astonishment on the usually stoic man's face was priceless, especially when he turned to Piccolo and mustered, "Is he fucking having me on?"

"No," the Namekian informed him quite smugly, "Everything he says is true Vegeta. Gohan's absence these last eight years is because he is indeed training to become Lord Beerus' successor."

Vegeta looked at Gohan with a dumfounded expression, before bursting into a fit of laughter. The teenager could do nothing but stare, as the prince continued to full blown hysterics, collapsing to the ground and pounding his fist on the carpet as he struggled to control his mirth. He certainly didn't expect _that_ reaction.

"Uh, Vegeta?" Gohan managed to muster, as he showed no signs of calming down. Piccolo was equally bewildered by his reaction. Eventually, the teenager started to get angry, "Oi! What's so funny?!"

The saiyan breathed loudly, attempting to control his laughter. But it was no use, for as soon as he looked up at Gohan did he erupt again, tears now evident in his eyes.

"Oh for Porunga's sake, snap out of it!" Piccolo growled after another minute of hysterics.

Vegeta was still laughing, though he finally managed to sit up and breathe out, "Oh this is just _brilliant_! If Cell was here, I'd shake his hand!"

"W-what?!" Gohan spluttered, utterly flabbergasted, "Why the hell would you say such a thing?!"

"Because!" the spikey-haired man chortled, "If it wasn't for him then you would probably still be that snot nosed little cry baby obeying your mummy and staring at textbooks for the rest of your life!"

The teenager scowled, as Vegeta continued, "Great galaxies there's hope for you yet kid. I always hoped that you'd use that explosive power of yours to it's full potential."

He blinked in disbelief, "You did?"

"Of course I did," he scoffed, steadily getting back to his feet, "I was getting sick of being the prince of a bunch of soft hearted fools. It's about time one of our race did something worth while, even if it is at the hands of the spawn of an idiot low class."

 _Figures,_ the young saiyan thought in annoyance, as Vegeta's eyes practically lit up with a mixture of malice and glee - a combination that he was certain could only be found in the prince of all saiyans.

"Oh please, _please_ can I be the one to tell Kakarot?!"

"NO!" Gohan and Piccolo chorused suddenly, prompting the man to scoff.

"And why the hell not?"

"Because he can't know I'm here!" the teenager spouted hotly, before taking a shuddering breath, " _No one_ was supposed to know. I don't even what to imagine what they'd say if they found out what I am."

"Gohan is actually here on a mission," Piccolo started to explain, allowing the junior Destroyer to wallow in his own bad luck for a moment, "There's a powerful enemy potentially on the horizon that Gohan may need to use a significant amount of power to defeat."

"Of course there is," Vegeta sighed in annoyance, "and let me guess, he's roping us into it as well?"

"Not exactly," Gohan sighed, looking towards his elders, "The thing is, even though I've achieved divine properties within my power, I haven't reached true divinity. It's supposed to come much later after centuries of training, but Lord Beerus and Whis - my mentor - have found out about a prophecy that could help me reach a divine level a lot quicker. This level of divine power may be needed if this enemy isn't stopped soon."

Vegeta was eyeing him curiously, as the teen spoke, "I've come to look for answers on Earth, though as I'm sure you've noticed I've not been too good about hiding my secret so far. This _can't_ get out Vegeta. If it does, then it'll just make it harder to go away again, I can't come back. If I do, the universe could implode."

"But why have you come to find answers to a divine prophecy here on Earth?" he asked him, attempting to swallow all the information.

"Well V," the halfling said with a teasing smile, "That's where you come in. I thought that you would be the only person who would know about it, what with being the prince of all saiyans."

"It's a saiyan prophecy?" he quirked.

Gohan nodded, "Yeah, it's apparently a form or transformation that Lord Beerus himself dreamt about. A form to rival the power of the Gods. It's called a Super Saiyan God."

The room was enveloped once again in silence, as the young saiyan watched his elder with baited breath. Vegeta frowned in thought, causing hope to swell within his chest. This was it, the moment he had been waiting for. Vegeta could tell him how to achieve the power of a Super Saiyan God and he could be on his way and safely tucked back in his bed on Lord Beerus' world without subjecting himself to the heartbreak of being around his family. He watched with a building anticipation, as the strong saiyan warrior opened his mouth in reply.

This was it. The moment of truth.

"Never heard of it."

He was quite certain that his stomach had just dropped out of his arse.

"What the bloody hell do you mean you've never heard of it?!" Gohan yelled, barely able to restrain himself from strangling the man.

"I mean what I said," Vegeta glowered, his eyes narrowing at him, "Junior Destroyer or not you'll watch your tone with me boy."

"But you're the _prince_ of saiyans!" the teenager spluttered, his voice rising, "Aren't you supposed to know about these things?! Did you not read a book of legends or something in your palace library?! Surely you had something like that!"

"Oh well now that you mention it Gohan I seem to remember reading something in between fighting for my life and being kidnapped by Frieza," said prince spat mockingly, "Now I wonder, was that before or after Frieza blew up my planet and wiped out my entire race?"

"There's no need for sarcasm you know," Gohan huffed, causing Piccolo to roll his eyes at him.

"Well then stop asking such ridiculous questions!" Vegeta spat, "Tch, a Super Saiyan God, I've never heard of anything so preposterous in my life."

"But it's _true_ Vegeta!" the halfling pressed, "the Oracle fish told me so!"

They stared at him as if he had just grown an extra head.

"Oracle…?"

"Fish…?"

Yep, both Piccolo and Vegeta thought he was crazy.

"It _is_ true," said Gohan with a sigh, sitting on the broken bed, "It has to be."

"You could still ask Shenron," offered Piccolo, causing the teen to groan.

"Yeah but not for another _month_!" he whined, resting his head in his hands, "I'm not sure how long I'm going to last."

"Tch stop whining," said Vegeta, "are you a Destroyer or not?"

"Well yeah but-"

"Then start acting like it," he scolded him, the dancing lights from outside casting shadows over his stern features, "If there's an enemy coming then you need to focus on obtaining this so called divine power and getting stronger, not wallow in your own self pity. I won't allow it."

"But - "

"Vegeta's right Gohan," said Piccolo, "Now, why don't you start by telling us about this enemy, we could help."

"It's not your problem."

"It becomes my problem when whoever it is decides to blow up the universe whilst I'm still in it," Vegeta growled, "Now spill."

The teenager sighed, knowing that they weren't going to take no for an answer, "His name is Perses. He was the Junior Destroyer before me that basically had a bit of a power trip and wiped out half the universe before being captured. He was the one that created Majin Buu, so you can see why I have a bit of a problem with that overgrown pink blob. He's half Kai, hence his powers of creation, though being a Destroyer makes him even more powerful. He's currently trapped within a dark realm known as the void, it's a wonder as to how he's still alive, as nothing is supposed to be able to live in there. Though somehow, after over a thousand years of being imprisoned, he's building power, there's no doubt about it according to Whis, the dark energy seeping through the fragments of reality is too strong to ignore…"

Vegeta and Piccolo listened intently, as the young saiyan continued to tell the tale of the wayward Destroyer, both of them left reeling from the revelation of the wicked being when he had finished.

"And you say that not even Lord Beerus could defeat him?" asked Vegeta, his dark eyes hardening. "I find that hard to believe."

Gohan shook his head, "Perses is unbelievably powerful, why else would he still be alive?"

He frowned as the prince said nothing, his lips drawn into a thin line, as if he was contemplating something. Though before he delve further, Piccolo cut across him.

"So how long before you think Perses can escape this 'void' you speak of?"

"Who knows," the teenager groaned hopelessly, "All I know is that I've got to think of a way to become this Super Saiyan God incase he does. Though Whis and Lord Beerus seemed worried, and The Supreme Kai especially so, and they seemed pretty eager to get me to Earth after barely giving me a heads up. I can only imagine that the probability of him escaping soon his highly likely. I don't he'll be too pleased to find that someone has nicked his job, or the Z-Sword."

Piccolo raised an eyebrow curiously, "The Z-Sword?"

"Oh yeah," Gohan said casually before materialising the ancient relic out of thin air and causing the men to jump, before he swiped it out of the air, "This is the Z-Sword, or Z as I like to call him."

 _"How do you do."_

"He says hi," he smiled brightly, causing the pair to stare oddly at him.

"He?"

The young saiyan chuckled, "Yeah the best I can get out of him is that he is a celestial entity within an ancient prophesied sword that I pulled from an old stone on the Kai's planet about five years ago. Only I can hear him, and although he's annoying and a bit of a pervert - "

" _Oi!"_

 _" -_ he's been there for me through a lot. In fact, I have a hunch that he chose me to free him from the stone he was trapped in. No one else has managed to do it in history, including Perses. Like I said, doing so is what got me chosen to become the next Junior Destroyer, and I doubt old Perses will be too happy that I've got hold of it."

 _"He's got a point there,"_ said Z.

"Just how many damned prophesies are there?" Vegeta scoffed, eyeing the glistening hilt of the legendary sword rather warily.

"Oh LOADS," said Gohan, his eyes lighting up with excitement, "But this one is really cool. Apparently when the sword his wielded by the right person, the two become one weapon, capable of cutting down the mightiest of foes etc etc."

"Tch, sounds like a children's fairytale," the prince retorted snidely.

The teenager shrugged, a smile playing on his lips, "Well it's worked for me so far, I've bestest every enemy I've come across with Z."

" _Not to mention the attention from the ladies!"_

"Oh shut up!" Gohan snapped at the sword, his cheeks blushing crimson, something that did not go unnoticed by Piccolo nor Vegeta.

"What did he say?" asked the Namekian, smirking.

"Oh nothing, he's just saying how amazingly badass I look with a sword," he said with a nervous smile causing his old mentor to snort.

"Sure."

" _Anyway,"_ the young halfling continued, moving swiftly on, "The point is that I can't just sit here waiting around on Earth doing nothing whilst Perses is gaining power. Damn it, I thought I would get somewhere tonight."

"Well you could find out where he is gathering strength from," said Vegeta, folding his arms across his chest, "From the sounds of it, The Void is an unlikely source to acquire power."

"Yeah exactly," Gohan sighed, running a hand through his hair out of frustration, "Though I can't even begin to imagine _how_ he is drawing strength from outside a seemingly impenetrable dimension. It doesn't make any sense!"

"It sounds like there is much more to this Perses than even you or the Gods thought possible," Piccolo observed, "We may have our work cut out for us this time."

"What you do mean? I told you that I didn't want to get you lot involved!" he protested, "It's too - "

"Dangerous?" Vegeta scoffed, "Don't be so ridiculous. You'll do well to not forget the warriors that bore you brat, no matter how powerful you've become."

"Vegeta is right Gohan," said Piccolo, "Besides, you should have known that if someone messes with one of us then they mess with all of us. If it becomes your fight then it does ours too."

Next to him, Vegeta rolled his eyes, "Well I wouldn't have drenched those words in such sentimental drivel but the point is there."

He stared at the man in astonishment, Vegeta actually wanted to help? Some things certainly had changed. Perhaps Bulma and Trunks had something to influence that.

"Well thanks," said Gohan with a sincere smile, "It really means a lot, but hopefully it won't come to the point where I'll have to involve Earth."

"Well either way I want a decent fight out of you coming back," said Vegeta, smirking at him, "I'm eager to see the level of strength you've reached under a deity's influence. I doubt that all you've learned is a few magic tricks involving that dagger of yours."

 _"His WHAT?!"_ Z raged from within his grasp, _"What did that saiyan monkey call me?! Let me at him! Let me at him! Gohan! You'd better slice his head off right now or - !"_

Gohan snorted with laughter as the ancient relic continued to rant before he banished him into thin air with the same technique the prince had jested at.

"What's so funny?" He quirked, blinking as the Z-Sword was nowhere in sight, "And how on Earth do you do that?"

"Oh nothing," the teenager grinned back, "And it's just a little technique I learned whilst I've been training on Lord Beerus' planet. It's quite easy to do, I just think of a little empty pocket in space and banish most of my stuff there that I can't always carry on my person all the time. I've also learned healing techniques, concealment, teleportation, stuff like that."

"Hn," Vegeta observed thoughtfully, "and you've found this useful in battle?"

"Comes in handy now and again," he smirked.

"Really now?"

"Don't tease him kid," said Piccolo with a roll of his eyes, "You know he'll just want to fight you. We both saw what you did to Majin Buu, though I have to say that I'm rather eager to see what else you can do too."

"I know that," sang Gohan, feeling giddy all of a sudden, "But he knows he won't, because if he fights me then I'll be exposed. And if I'm exposed before I find out about the Super Saiyan god prophecy then I'll have no choice but to leave early and Lord Beerus won't be all too happy about that!"

"Gohan…" the Namekian warned, but the halfling ignored him.

Vegeta gaped, then growled, "What makes you think that -?!"

"That you were scared of Lord Beerus?" the teen saiyan grinned wickedly, "Come on Vegeta, you nearly pissed your pants when you thought I was him! I could totally see through that big scary saiyan bravado of yours!"

" _Gohan_!"

"I mean, I _am_ a Destroyer after all," Gohan continued, laughing heartily, "it's basically in my job description to see through people's false notions and intentions in order to judge them. I could see right through you!"

As the vein in Vegeta's head throbbed out of control, the unsuspecting Z-gang drinking and dancing in the grounds of Capsule Corp. had no idea of the absence of two of it's members, nor the whereabouts of the mysterious new kid. Nor did they seem to mind as they carried on enjoying the festivities around them, reminiscing about the young boy who was seemingly lost amongst the stars. They had no clue that said boy was indeed right under their noses, nor that he had subsequently enraged a certain flame-haired prince. All they did hear was a mighty bellow that was so loud that it echoed over the music that continued to pump over the large sound system, causing their eyes to widen in surprise.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-!"

"VEGETA NO!"

"EEK!"

It was safe to say that the party dispersed rather swiftly after that, especially due to the fact that the majority of the party goers had to dodge the rampaging torrent of purple energy that was the Galic Gun as it burst through the side of the domed house and rocketed across the garden, sending a whirlwind of dust and debris flying through the air.

Though luckily, in the commotion, no one seemed to notice the screaming Junior Destroyer that was attached to the end of it.

* * *

 _1st December, 2018._

* * *

 **Reviews:**

Lightningblade49: You guessed it!

Pie 555: Son bro's will be a feature I can promise you that xD

x2leoj : glad you enjoyed the ending of the last chapter! hopefully the next update wont be as long! sob!

hawkeyestratos1996: always hated Majin Buu. I needed revenge!

R.E.O19: wow thank you so much, your review really means the world and gives me the confidence to keep on writing!

MadmanJrs: haha thanks for your review! glad you liked the character interactions, really hope you liked it here too!

Ashborn2271: I too am itching for another fight scene, SOON.

Aaron Leach: thank you!

romanovascap : glad you enjoyed! the gang cant sense Gohan as he has lowered and masked it to resemble a door mouse that hadnt been fed for a week ;)

X3runner: ooo food for thought!

EleazarTheUnforgotten: thank you so much! glad you like Z, got to have that bit of comic releif!

Iwik: thank you! yes Im glad you saw what I was trying to get at with the feels!

Cyber Initiative: tournament of power is probably not going to fit into this story, however I havent ruled it out completely!

Naite-Laef : haha glad you are enjoying the cliff hangers, I feel so mean!

MysticSSJTwin : thank you so so much!

Guest c: thanks :)

Exiled Soul Nomad: I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations!

Star1X: hope i cleared this up for you at the beginning of this chapter

johndoe86 : I aim to do a proper showcase of Gohans power! I cannot wait! the moment is planned!

victor0606 : thank you!

FireEmblemMaster101 : I always thought this about vegeta but i like to think that he didnt take the role of king in order to honour is father, coupled with the fact that he was a prince when his planet got destroyed so technically didnt get a coronation or anything to make him official king. Vegeta's arrogance can get annoying, though I really wanted to do a humorous take on it which I hope ive achieved here!

DaDragon562: thank you so much!

777torn777: i know i am aware of my teasing nature xD

gameknight99999: all will be revealed ;)

duskrider : maybe so ;)

warriorofdark : i hope i got vegetas reaction right for you!

Shadow Tricked: so glad youre enjoying it!

mubaarik4858 : thank you!

LilRocboogie: wow thank you so much! that really means alot! I do have a friend that already does my art for me and comissions so I have something in mind. but do send me some details of your art and ill have a gander!

JulesSOD27: thanks!

erin: snogging to come xD

Chosen To Die: wow thank you so much!

Michelle: lots more!

colbyburningham: thanks sorry about the wait!

LEO LOVER 2016 : thank you! again sorry for the wait!

FeathersofMemory: literally everyone guessed vegeta but i LOVED the mystery behind it! thanks so much for your review! XD

darkprincess: thank you!

Pandawarrior51 : i get you, i hope what I put at the beginning of this chapter helps make more sense of why i chose chichi not to recognise gohan.

Guest: i totes feel famous it makes me really want to get it right for you guys reading!

Xanderr Fenton : please see start of chapter :)

aznalpha: HFIL is hell for infinite losers referred to in the db anime :)

Erin: i get your beef erin i really do, but i hope i have cleared it up a bit more in my authors note at the beginning of this chapter. :')

DarkLordInc: i hope i did vegeta and gohan justice!

memmek10k: thank you so much!

DragonCrusader : yes snogging is heated kissing/making out/ with tongue ;) gohan has been naughty but not THAT naughty. bless him.

shrushtee: thank you, hope the wait was worth it!

Gelid : haha i love that!

joshben4c: thank you :)

Hashirama 1710 " perses definitely has similarities to zamasu. but is this intentional dear reader? ;)

Guest : aww thank you so much! I hope you liked this chapter and that it was worth waiting so long!

Xxxsal : thank you! your reviews mean so much!

Razz : i LOVE LOVE LOVE how many people are saying that this is their fave fanfic! you guys are too much! xD

Guest : thank you so much, your review blew me away because you literally just said the exact thing I was trying to get across to the readers. which means i must be doing something right! :)

Thebandit7557 : sorry to leave you hanging!


	14. Beneath The Broken Glass

_A/N: Hello! Yay Chapter 14! Goodness it's been a while, sorry I haven't been able to keep my updates as consistent as I would have liked recently. Got a lot going on. I hope that everyone has had a wonderful xmas and are looking forward to 2019. hopefully I can get back into the swing of writing and give you regular updates next year as I am still super excited for this story and have so many plans. I do have the odd idea in mind and jolt ahead and write the chapter or part of it whilst I have the inspiration so sometimes that takes up more of my time to get the next chappy out sooner. I promise itll be worth it in the end! I cannot believe the following of this story, it is utterly insane so thank you so so much for all your love and interest! I really hope you continue to enjoy this story as much as I do writing it! I cannot tell you how pleased I am to get another chapter out to you before the end of the year!_

 _ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen**

 **Beneath The Broken Glass**

 **xxxx**

"Really Vegeta, _Really_?!" Piccolo roared, the smoke dissipating around them as the Galic Gun careened off into the atmosphere.

"He started it."

"Have you completely lost your mind?!"

The agitated prince snorted in distaste, opening his mouth in an angry retort when an enraged shout echoed from below them.

"THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO KNOW!"

The two men's eyes widened, snapping their heads towards the blue-haired woman who was positively shaking with rage. Bulma snarled, peering up at them from the ground, her furious features visible through the sizeable hole in the side of the house. She looked rather wind swept, as did the rest of the Z-gang who were currently picking themselves out of bushes and trees from where they had been blown backwards by the sheer force of Vegeta's attack.

Tables and chairs had been completely knocked over and broken, the speaker system now resembling pieces of shrapnel, crockery and glasses littered the garden and the large marquee had subsequently landed in the Briefs' swimming pool. Party goers were running away and screaming, a few complaining loudly about rogue fireworks and how 'Capsule Corporation should be regulated for this sort of thing you know!' as they hurriedly left the festivities.

Vegeta's obsidian eyes followed the long line of singed grass caused by the blast as it continued to smoke and sizzle before them, wincing slightly as his _beloved_ wife screeched again.

"What the _hell_ do you two think you're doing?!" Bulma cried, her hands placed angrily on her hips, "UNLEASHING a blast like that in a crowded place?! I thought I told you to hold off on your freaky alien super powers until later Vegeta! _And Piccolo_ , I expected more from you!"

The Namekian blinked, as they both became rather sheepish, "Well I, uh -"

"We didn't mean -" Vegeta started, though a burst of laughter cut him short.

"Yeah you two!" Goku chortled, floating up towards them with his arms folded, "If you wanted to spar you should have just said so! Can I join?"

"NO!" They chorused, causing the man to pout.

"Aw, why not?"

"Because Kakarot, I've had enough of you and your damned spawn for one night!" Vegeta snapped, as Piccolo gave him a warning glare.

"Huh?" Goku quirked, cocking his head in confusion, "Are you mad about the cake? Goten didn't mean to, and anyway it was Trunks that threw the frog in the first place -"

"That's it!" Bulma spat, her blue eyes narrowing at the lot of them, "No sparring for any of you! Honestly, can't you muscle heads be civil for just one night without fighting each other?!"

"Aw but - !" he started to whine.

"Bulma's right Goku," spouted Chi-Chi, standing next to hear looking equally ticked off, "No more sparring today, _Vegeta_ has already caused enough damage. And on today of all days! What on Earth would Gohan say if he were here? I bet he'd be astounded at your behaviour! All three of you!"

Vegeta clamped his mouth shut, though it was obvious that he was trying to refrain himself from blasting her into oblivion.

"What did I do?" Goku asked his fellow warriors, who shot him a glare.

"I could write a book," Piccolo scoffed underneath his breath, which only made the saiyan even more confused, his brow furrowing into a deep frown.

"Well," Bulma huffed, blowing a stray bang out of her eyes and looking around her at the grounds that were all but empty save the Z-gang, "Looks like the party's over, though I suppose it was getting late anyway."

"Yeah most of us are wasted," a now blonde-haired Launch hiccuped, swaying slightly as she leaned on Bulma's shoulder, "We're still good to crash here for the night eh Bulms? I'd rather not have Tien fly me home right now else I'd probably upchuck on some poor bugger's head over North City."

"Of course Launch, you're all welcome to stay," She chuckled, before glaring up at her husband once more, "Although we'll have to rearrange some of the rooms seen as a quarter of my house has been destroyed…"

"I'll help you make up the beds, and Goku you're helping too," offered Chi-Chi, hoisting a sleeping Goten over her shoulder and tutting, "Honestly, you can sleep through anything. Just like your father."

"Looks like we're on garden duty," chuckled Krillin, fishing a leaf out of his hair before leading the way for the rest of the gang, "Come on you lot."

The Z-gang headed their separate ways, as Bulma yelled up to Vegeta and Piccolo to fix the mess they had made. It was lucky that the summer months were upon them, as they would have been in for a rather chilly nights sleep with half of the roof exposed. Piccolo glared at the saiyan prince, who had made a disgruntled noise over his wife's demands, kicking a brick out of his path before turning around and making a start on shifting the rubble. With the Namekian following suit, neither of them noticed the young saiyan behind them, who was giving them an amused look from where he was perched at the base of the large hole, his back resting lazily against the destroyed windowsill.

That was, until a small chuckle reached their ears, "You know, that was a bit uncalled for if you ask me."

"What the-?" Vegeta gaped, the teenager's cheeky grin all but angering him further, that and the fact that he appeared to be completely unharmed by the prince's attack, "That blast hit you dead on!"

"Yeah cheers for that by the way," Gohan jested, brushing off some space dust from his jacket, "Had a nice orbit around the Earth, enjoyed the view for a bit before I decided to come back down. And don't look so shocked, you saw what I did to Majin Buu with my pinky finger right?"

"Show off," he scoffed, as Piccolo rolled his eyes at the halfling's display. His old mentor knew that he would only come out the other end of Vegeta's attack a bit singed at the most, it was more a display of the prince's annoyance, rather than a killing blow. Though from what he had seen of Gohan's power so far - which continued to be a mystery at present - he wasn't so sure that it would have mattered if it was.

"Gohan, if you're going to keep teasing him I'll blast you myself," said Piccolo.

"Aw you know I was only joking," said Gohan, grinning widely at them both, "Man, you two haven't half gotten grumpy in your old age."

"And it seems as though you've grown into a sarcastic, sassy little shit," Vegeta growled back, as Piccolo shot the teenager a glare, though to their annoyance this only made Gohan laugh more.

"That's basically what Lord Beerus says about me," he shrugged indifferently, "But I still tease him."

His elder's eyes widened, "Are you asking to be destroyed brat?"

"Ah, it's fine," said Gohan, "He won't destroy me, he won't have anyone to replace him otherwise. Which only makes it even funnier, no matter how angry he gets, he's bound to his duty of passing on his legacy to me."

"Unbelievable."

"Gohan," Piccolo interrupted, a serious expression on his face as he addressed him, "As much as I'd love to see you rile up Vegeta all night, you still have a job to do. Do you have any sort of plan to find out how to become this Super Saiyan God?"

"No," The teenager sighed in distain, "It looks like I'll have to stick it out for a month before I can summon Shenron and ask him."

"You could always collect the dragonballs in the meantime," Vegeta offered suddenly, "It would save time and give you something to do whilst you're stuck here."

Gohan and Piccolo blinked in surprise, "Wow Vegeta, that was actually helpful."

"Only because I'm trying to think of a faster way to get you out of my hair!" He snarled, causing the young saiyan to chuckle.

"Aw come on V, haven't you missed me?" he grinned cheekily.

"Hn, like a hole in the head."

"Still, it's a good idea," said Piccolo, "The dragonballs can't be used for another month but they are still active. You could always use the dragon radar to find them. Does Bulma still keep it in her lab Vegeta?"

The prince muttered a rather haughty affirmative as Gohan sighed.

"Well that's one good thing I guess," he said thoughtfully, already concocting a plan as to how he was going to get into Bulma's lab undetected.

"Oh I don't know boy," said Vegeta suddenly, a rather evil smile playing on his lips, "I wouldn't say that was the only good thing to come out of tonight."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I'm just saying that you seemed rather cosy with Satan's daughter is all," he smirked, causing the teenager's cheeks to blush bright crimson. "You haven't been able to keep away from the girl all night."

"That's not-!" he spluttered hotly in a poor attempt to defend himself, "I wasn't - !"

"Tell me Gohan," Piccolo grinned knowingly, "Where did you say that you were staying whilst you're on Earth?"

"At Videl's," he tried to reason, though it only made their smirks widen, "But it's not what you think! She's just helping me out!"

"Oh she is, is she?" said Vegeta, raising an eyebrow causing the halfling to glare at them.

"I am not having this conversation, _especially_ not with you two gits."

"Why not?" the prince pressed, enjoying every moment of Gohan's torture. Piccolo too seemed rather chipper about his predicament.

" _Because-_!"

"I CAN'T HEAR ANY MOVEMENT UP THERE!" Came a sudden shout from one of the lower bedrooms that hadn't been destroyed, "VEGETA! YOU'D BETTER BE EITHER FINISHED OR DEAD!"

Gohan couldn't help but chuckle at Bulma's yelling, nor the way it made the vein in Vegeta's temple throb. Glad of the interruption, and for want of not being embarrassed further by their accusations, the teenager took his opportunity to leave.

"Well, I'd better leave you to it," he grinned, jumping off the ledge and making his way towards the doorway.

"You're not helping?" Piccolo asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously at him.

"Hey it wasn't me that went overkill over here and tried to wipe me from existence," he said pointedly, as Vegeta scoffed, "And anyway, I've got a radar to find - see ya!"

Scarpering from the room as he heard the prince of all PMS utter a string of obscenities after him, Gohan quickly and swiftly made his way down the corridors of the large building towards the basement where he knew Bulma's lab resided.

He was pleased to find that it was where it had always been, down two floors, close to the basement, third door on the right. The only thing that seemed to have changed about the winding corridors was the decor, that and the more up to date security system that protected Bulma's lab from intruders. A shiny, touchscreen greeted him as he faced the metal door, rather than the simple pin pad he was used to. The young saiyan swore under his breath, unsure of what to do as he didn't want to set any alarms off if he teleported straight inside the lab. Still, he reasoned, he could just teleport away should he set off an intruder alarm, and he had gotten this far, it was worth a shot.

Biting his lip, Gohan feebly tapped the screen with a fingertip where a green and blue display lit up, prompting him to place his palm upon the glass. Shrugging to himself, he did as the screen instructed and placed his hand flat against it.

A faint beeping sound reached his ears as it appeared to be analysing, and then, to his triumph a cool female voice spoke,

' _Welcome, Son Gohan. It's been a while. Access granted.'_

And with that, the door flew open.

"Nice," Gohan couldn't help but grin, stepping over the threshold as the door slid shut behind him.

Albeit he was now more used to being addressed as 'Lord' Gohan, it was nice to know that Bulma still had his details upon the system. He vividly remembered her giving him the access code seen as he visited her there so often in the run up to the androids and The Cell Games, and how ecstatic he had been because of it. She had even taken his fingerprints and samples of his DNA to rig into the new system she was thinking of building, but alas he had died before he had been able to try it out. He briefly wondered why she had still installed his details even though he was long gone, did she believe that he was coming back?

Either way it wasn't important, he thought, his onyx eyes darting around the lab as the lights automatically flickered to life above his head. The layout hadn't changed all that much, what with Bulma's large desk against the back wall, a metal workbench in the centre of the room and several towering filing cabinets and shelves littered with gadgets, along with various doodles and schematics pinned against the wall above Bulma's desk.

The last time he was in here, a baby's cot was perched next to the wooden work surface for Trunks, but now that he was grown it was long gone. It seemed that nowadays the blue-haired CEO worked in solitude, which may have been nice for her seen as she always used to complain about the lack of peace and quiet. Though even without a screaming baby and androids running around, she still had Vegeta to content with.

Several inventions, engines and other miscellaneous items were strewn about the lab, some tinkering and whirring in motion as large computer screens continued to update and analyse them. For Gohan, who as a boy secretly always wanted to be a scientist rather than a scholar or warrior like his parents had envisioned, it was like entering a cave of wonders. And he was grasped by the happy memories that spewed forth into the forefront of his mind.

Feeling nostalgic, the the teenager plopped himself down in Bulma's chair, running his fingertips along the smooth mahogany wood of the desk. A half drunken mug of coffee sat on the surface, gone hours cold by now. Several diagrams for a new type of motorcycle were spread out on the service, along with the old notebook that the genius used to carry around with her, filled with ideas for inventions. He was tempted to have a look through some of her plans for future technology, though quickly quelled the geek within and began to rummage through the draws of her desk.

Knowing Bulma, she would keep the radar close by at least, if not locked away. In all honesty he felt a little guilty, rummaging through Bulma's personal desk like this, but quite frankly the universe was at stake. He was certain if he ever had to explain it to her then she'd understand.

It was a very disappointing start, all he found was bits of scrap paper, pens, diagrams more notes and packets of nicotine gum and patches - though it was good that she was trying to kick the habit of smoking. He was being careful not to mess too much up for want of not rousing suspicion, but after the third draw it was starting to become frustrating.

Throwing his hands up in a mini tantrum, the young saiyan began to search through the filing cabinets next to him, which led him on a good twenty minute search, but still - no radar. He sighed in distain, not taking much notice that the lab was now upturned in a complete state of disarray. Running a hand through his spikey mane of hair, his onyx eyes darted around him, before finally spotting a draw marked ' _Confidential'._

Of course it was locked, he huffed in annoyance, before he smirked to himself and unleashed the tiniest ball of Ki from his fingertip which caused the lock to explode in a small puff of smoke. Inching the draw open, he came across several marked files before spotting the familiar smooth white device at the bottom. Performing a little victory dance in his head, Gohan eagerly snatched the radar out of it's hiding place, pressing the button on top with his thumb and watching as the green gridded screen came to life, bleeping in his ears as several bright spherical lights showed him the location of the seven dragonballs across the planet.

Deciding that he should probably clean up before he went off in search of the mystical orbs, he pressed the button again and at once the lights disappeared, the screen now blank. Gohan sighed as he looked at the mess he had caused, making to shut the draw when something caught his eye. Pocketing the dragon radar, the young saiyan picked up the photograph sticking out from a pile of files with shaky fingers.

He sucked in a breath, he remembered Bulma taking that very photo all too well. It was the last time the Z-Fighters were all together.

 _"Oh stop sulking Vegeta, it's just a photo!" Bulma called with mild annoyance from where she stood with her camera, fixing it to a tripod in the middle of the back garden of Capsule Corp., "It's rare that we get the whole gang together like this!"_

 _"Yeah only when the world is ending," Krillin whispered into his ear with a roll of his eyes._

 _"Shut up Krillin!" the blue-haired heiress snarled, causing the preteen to giggle, "Now come on everybody, into position - Goku put the hotdog down!"_

 _"Bu' mm' eatin'ghh!" his father frowned from the buffet table, his cheeks full with barbecue and another hotdog in his palm._

 _His mother sighed from where she was sat on a sun lounger, bouncing a baby Trunks upon her knee, "And you've done nothing BUT eat since we got here! For Kami's sake Goku would it really kill you to put your plate down for a few minutes?"_

 _"Probably," the man mustered cheekily after he had swallowed his mouthful causing the gang to titter and the ox-princess to shoot him a playful glare._

 _"Photograph. Now." She stated, though Goku's grin only got wider._

 _"Right you are babe," he smiled with a solute before joining the group on the grass._

 _Gohan laughed as his father's large hand ruffled his golden spikes of hair, and ignored Chi-Chi's protests of making his wild mane even messier._

 _"Stupid woman and her idiotic shenanigans," Vegeta's disgruntled voice grumbled behind him as Bulma finally managed to coax him out of his hiding place._

 _The young saiyan looked up at the prince, even though the year in The Hyperbolic Time Chamber had certainly given him a growth spurt, the man was still much taller than him. Though he was quickly catching him up. He couldn't help but allow a knowing smile play on his lips as the usually stoic, crass saiyan was following orders from a weak earthling woman. He must really like her. They had Trunks together after all. Mum had told him that to have a baby that people had to be in love, so him liking her was more than a strong possibility._

 _"What are you smirking at, brat?" he growled suddenly, causing the boy to jump._

 _"Oh, er, nothing," Gohan cringed, quickly turning back around to face Bulma who was busy yelling at Yamcha to get in line._

 _"Leave him be Vegeta," Goku chuckled teasingly, "What's gotten you so grumpy? Are you worried that Bulma won't get your good side?"_

 _The prince merely scoffed, turning his head away as Krillin snickered beside him._

 _"I have to say I don't like this much either," sighed Tien, his arms folded across his chest as his three eyes positively glared at the offending camera._

 _"Me neither," Piccolo grunted, causing the halfling to cock his head towards him._

 _"Aw come on Mister Piccolo, Tien, I think it's nice!"_

 _"You would kid," the Namekian said as he raised an eyebrow in amusement, "You're all for this sentimental drivel."_

 _"Well I just think it's nice to have memories of the good times you know," Gohan shrugged, "You can always look back on them when the bad times come. It reminds you to fight to feel that way again."_

 _The group of warriors stared at him, before sharing a glance. It was clear that the young boy did not quite understand just how profound his words were in that moment._

 _"He's right you know," said the Future Trunks, giving the boy a knowing wink._

 _Piccolo placed a hand on the preteen's hair, a wry smile playing on his lips, "Alright kid, we'll do it your way."_

 _"That's the spirit!" Goku laughed, as Gohan gave his mentor a dazzling smile._

 _"Alright nearly ready!" Bulma shouted over them, adjusting her camera lens, "Let's have the shortest at the front!"_

 _"She's talking to you Vegeta," he heard Yamcha mutter under his breath._

 _"I will MURDER you weakling!"_

 _"Oi! No killing each other until I've at least taken the photo!" yelled Bulma, as the rest of the gang snorted with laughter, "Let's all pretend that we get along for a minute alright? Gohan, get in front."_

 _The young saiyan obediently did as he was told, placing himself in front of his father. Though to his surprise, the man grasped him by the shoulders and pushed him to stand at the centre of the Z-Fighters._

 _"I think you should be centre stage for this one son," Goku smiled, when he looked at him in confusion._

 _"That's great Goku! Nice angle!" Bulma grinned in approvable, "Now Yamcha if you just move a little to the left - no my left! That's it, and Krillin just come forward ever so sliiiighty, and Trunks, yep that's perfect…!"_

 _As the woman continued to organise the rabble that was the warriors of Earth, the young saiyan felt guilt creep into the pit of his stomach. Cell's tournament for the fate of the world was all but a few days away, and instead of training and getting stronger he was lounging around having a barbecue at Bulma's house. He had spoken - well tried to - speak to his father about it that morning, when he announced to the small family that they would be spending the afternoon at Capsule Corporation. Gohan had asked whether he thought it was a good idea, to relax rather than train to prepare themselves for the fight of their lives._

 _But alas, the man had provided him with more or less the same answer he had given him ever since they had emerged from the time chamber. He told Gohan relax and have fun, that there was more important things than training for today. It was a beautiful day after all._

 _His father had been right in a way, the day really **was** beautiful. Bright blue skies, the warm May sun beating down on their backs as they relaxed in the Briefs' garden, multicoloured butterflies dancing around Mrs Briefs' glorious flowerbeds. And the way the laughter carried on around him, no one would have thought that the world could be ending in the matter of a few days. Even Trunks, who seemed forever anxious and serious due to the horrors he had faced in his future seemed to be enjoying himself. But Gohan could see that behind the boisterous laughter and beaming smiles that the Z-Fighters were worried, there was still a tension in the air that was impossible to ignore. _

_Then, there was trust. Trust in Son Goku, his father. For Goku always knew the right thing to do, to say. He had overcome every single challenge, every villain he had faced - one way or another. But somehow, and Gohan did not know the reason why, it was different. His father had never been so blasé about a fight before. So dismissive and apparently uncaring that even though Trunks' presence had drastically changed their present, their future could still end up the same way - apocalyptic._

 _As he looked up towards his father beside him, he frowned, he was smiling so widely, aiming his grin towards the camera in preparation for the snapshot. No notion of worry or trepidation upon his features. But for the first time, the young boy noticed something in his eyes, something that had been there since he had made his comment about looking back on good memories. It was something deeper, as if there was some sort of internal struggle going on behind the emerald orbs. Just what was his father thinking?_

 _It seemed that Goku had caught onto the sudden tension emanating from the child as he suddenly snapped his head towards him, kneeling down to his height as Bulma was now shouting at Krillin for pulling a silly face ("It's just my face, I can't help it Bulma!")._

 _"Hey kiddo, what's up?" his father asked him, still smiling, only less than before._

 _Gohan felt his throat run dry, he immediately felt as though he was in trouble. Though he knew he hadn't done anything wrong, his mother had already scolded him for breaking his breakfast plate that morning and his father had given him a lecture on controlling his strength more. But the way the man was searching him with his eyes, his golden hair shining in the sunlight just as his did, he couldn't help but feel weary under his gaze._

 _He shouldn't be doubting his father like this after all, he was a bad son for even questioning him. But yet his lips moved before he could even stop himself._

 _"Dad, do you really think that we can beat Cell?"_

 _That did it. It was only for a moment, a split millisecond at that, but Gohan was a very perceptive boy, and caught it straight away. The way his father's resolve faltered, his smile disappearing and his eyes darkening ever so slightly, before BAM, the cheery mask was back once more. Confusing the halfling even more so._

 _Goku ruffled his hair once more, his infectious smile prompting his own lips to twitch at the corners, "Gohan, I -"_

 _"Everybody look this way!" Bulma's call cut across them as she waved frantically from behind the camera, one eye pushed against it, "One! Two!…"_

 _Gohan turned quickly, forcing the biggest smile he could muster as his father threw his arm over his shoulder, grinning just as madly. He could feel the gang move into position behind him, as Bulma continued her countdown._

 _"…Three! Smile!"_

 ** _FLASH!_**

 _The halfling blinked the harsh light out of his eyes, just as an irate shriek echoed across the garden._

 _"Damn it Vegeta!" Bulma snapped, "You had your eyes closed! I said after three!"_

 _The saiyan prince growled, "Shut up woman, you said three so I went on three, you never said you would say smile!"_

 _"I said_ ** _after_** _three monkey man!" she snarled, "And everyone knows you say smile before you take a picture! That's how it works!"_

 _"How am I supposed to know about your pathetic Earth customs?! It doesn't even make any sense! I didn't even want to be in the blasted picture anyway!"_

 _"Why you -!"_

 _Gohan couldn't help but allow the laughter escape his chest, as the gang around him were sent into hysterics, all the while making Vegeta even more irate. He felt tears spring into his eyes as he continued to giggle uncontrollably. His father stood next to him, positively beaming as he watched the scene unfold, and Bulma tried to hit the prince with her very expensive camera, prompting his mother to chase after them in order to salvage the precious photo, but not before thrusting a squawking baby Trunks into his arms._

 _Their laughter and unfolding chaos was like music to his ears, singing a tune that he wanted to imprint into his memory for the rest of his days. And as baby Trunks clutched onto his shirt, babbling up at him in order to gain his attention, he decided that maybe his father was right, and that he should just enjoy these days of peace whilst they still could. And as his grandfather joined in the fray, attempting to stop the woman from getting in the way of Vegeta should he decide to unleash a blast or three - he realised something._

 _That despite his worries, the tension and fear that threatened to suffocate the world, they were still here. His friends, his_ ** _family_** _how ever mismatched and dysfunctional they were - that was families after all right? And more important than that, as he stretched out his senses and relished in the warmth of their Ki that buzzed around him, he could feeling them all living. Living and breathing off one another as the summer sun warmed their skin._

 _And he would not let Cell take that away._

Gohan smiled, lost in his memories as he stared at the old photograph. He had never seen it developed, he had never had the chance to. Bulma must have had it printed after he had died. He couldn't help but allow a small chuckle escape his lips as the younger Z-Fighters smiled brightly out at him from the fame.

Yamcha, Tien and Piccolo stood at the back of the group, being the tallest, and whilst Tien and Piccolo stood rather calm and stoic, the former directed a wicked grin towards the camera, his two fingers forming bunny ears behind Krillin's head in front of him. Krillin was also smiling widely, and it was with a snort did the teen realise that the shorter man had stretched his arm behind Gohan and performed the same bunny ears behind his father's head. Vegeta stood behind Goku, mid-blink with his arms folded haughtily across his chest - just how Gohan remembered. The future Trunks was next to him, smiling brightly with Tien's arm strewn over his shoulder in comradery.

The young Destroyer's smile faded a little, as he stared at himself, knowing all too well that the cheesy grin that was so identical to the blonde haired man's next to him was somewhat forced. There were so many questions left unanswered back then, so many things he had buried within himself, just like the promise he had made to himself to destroy Cell if his father was unable, no matter how scared he was. Some things never change he reasoned, he was still keeping secrets.

Still the photograph held a good memory, memories of a much simpler time in his opinion. He briefly wondered why Bulma had kept a photograph like this locked away, though it could have been because the frame was broken. He observed it in the dim light of the lab, frowning as he realised that not only was the bottom of the frame was almost completely broken off, was there a long crack in the glass that spread the length of his young face, as though cutting him in half.

A shudder suddenly ran down his spine, as his fingertips brushed the broken edges of the glass. Though he was confused as to why it had made him act like that. He wondered how the fame had broken? From the way it has been discarded in the draw it looked as though someone had just tossed it in there without a care, or even out of anger. He gulped, was Bulma angry that he didn't come back? So angry that she couldn't even bare to look at a photograph that depicted him happy and alive? He shook his head, that was crazy talk. If she was so angry she wouldn't have been reuniting everyone on the anniversary of his death all these years. The photograph could have just fallen off her desk and she hadn't gotten round to fixing it yet.

Maybe.

Shaking his head, the teenager made to put the fame back in it's place when he spotted something that made his eyes widen to the size of saucers. It was a slightly faded notebook thrown in amongst the shattered pieces of glass that read, _'Operation: Gohan'._

Hardly believing his eyes, he snapped up the notebook which was full to the brim of various papers, notes and diagrams. He flicked through them quickly, his eyes scanning the pages which were filled with tried and tested ideas to find the long lost half saiyan, and bring him back to Earth. Various scribbles, in Bulma's elegant handwriting - the majority of them crossed out with deep imposing lines of pencil - depicted the lengths they had gone through to try and find the deceased boy.

Things like 'dragonballs', 'Porunga', jumped out at him, along with lists of various planets in the Northern Galaxy, all crossed off, all places where they had looked and yet he could not be found. There were dates too, dates in the corners of pages that recounted Bulma's entries, almost like a diary.

Flicking through and picking one at random, it read;

 _'17th June, Age 769_

 _Goku has returned from space again. Planet Felix was a complete dead end. Vegeta has offered to go with him next time, but I dread to thing how that will turn out! I'm working on a faster spaceship, maybe we'll try the South Galaxy next? See if there's any signs or word of lost dimensions. Though it's difficult when we don't know alien lingo. Vegeta knows enough to get by on certain planets he tells me, but even he is at a loss of what to do by this point. If I'm honest, I am too. But damn it, we can't just give up on Gohan like this! He certainly wouldn't if it was the other way around._

 _Gohan would be thirteen by now. I wonder what he'd be like?_

 _I'm not sure if Goku will be able to handle another trip to space after this. Chi-Chi too. It's not fair on Goten.'_

It was all there, every failed trip to space. Every desperate attempt to find him. Every disillusioned project and colossal disappointment. All documented for him to see, from the month after his death right through to the August of 772, when Bulma must have finally realised that their efforts to find him were futile. But he didn't read any more, he just couldn't bring himself to, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that the last entry was only just short of three years ago.

He felt like smashing the photo frame next to him too. He could almost feel the frustration radiating from the notebook. Bulma, a world glass genius was always able to find a way, but she could not bring him back. She must have felt as though she had failed him.

He wished he could take back the years. He wished he could have explained, given them a sign that he was fine and that they didn't need to waste their tears and energy on him. But now, it was far too late.

Drenched in memories and guilt, the young saiyan failed to realise the Ki heading towards the basement. It was only just before the beeping sound from the lab door started did his senses alert him to the familiar energy hovering only feet away from him.

He panicked, hurriedly shoving the notebook back into the draw and blindly making an effort to clear up the mess he had made when a cool female voice echoed around the lab.

 _"Welcome Videl, Access granted."_

Before his brain could even begin to reason with him to teleport, run or get the HFIL out of there, the metal door flew open, revealing the Satan girl in all her beauty. Her hands placed over the curvature of her hips as she stepped over the threshold, her gaze coming to rest on the shell shocked half-saiyan who currently resembled a deer caught in headlights, surrounded by various files and diagrams, some fluttering through the air the aftermath of his vain attempt to clean up. He held a broken picture frame in one of his hands, the draws of Bulma's desk completely dishevelled by the side of him. The whole lab was in complete disarray, and the culprit was standing in the centre of it all.

Caught, red handed.

Videl's sapphire eyes widened, her mouth dropping open in shock, before her features contorted with anger and betrayal. And for some reason, Gohan _could not_ move.

"What the HELL are you doing in here?!" She positively bellowed, he could have sworn she was about to breathe fire.

"V-Videl, I can explain - " he started, though he really had no idea just how he was going to get himself out of this one. This was very bad, he looked like a stranger that had just broken into the lab of the most successful, influential scientists in the world. There could be a number of reasons why a stranger would do such a thing, most of them for dangerous intent. Which was exactly what Videl was processing right now.

"Then you'd better start coming up with an explanation very quickly Beerus," she snarled, pushing the hem of her dress to the side to reveal the black holster on her thigh that held a handgun and a pair of shiny silver handcuffs. "Because if you don't tell me why your currently rifling through the CEO of Capsule Corporation's private lab, _breaking and entering_ then I'll arrest you right here on the spot."

Gohan swallowed the very large lump in his throat, his face heating up as his eyes travelled up her thighs. _Must_ she have done that?

"Well?!" Videl snapped, reaching for her cuffs, "I'm waiting!"

"Er…"

"How did you even get in here anyway?!" She asked suddenly, as if the thought only just came to her, "It's supposed to be secure!"

"Would you believe me if I said that I don't remember?" he tried, attempting to flash her a charming smile.

"Shut up!" Videl growled, stalking towards him with her eyes narrowed, "I don't believe that amnesia crap for one second!"

Gohan's widened, "You don't?"

"At first I did," she informed him, almost devilishly as if she was enjoying the fact that she had caught him out, "But now it doesn't make any sense. You may have 'forgotten your memories' Beerus but other than that you don't display any of the symptoms of someone with amnesia."

"I don't?"

Videl smirked, "I may not have been a police officer for very long, but I've been working with the force since I was at high school. And I've interrogated some of the biggest mob leaders and masterminds in the world. Trust me, I know when someone is trying to spoon feed me bullshit."

"I-"

"You're hiding something, something big," she continued, "Why else would you be skulking around Capsule Corp.?"

"Videl, I'm not -" he tried, but the girl was upon him before he could so much as react due to the shock.

"For example!" Videl cried, grabbing the hem of his shirt and yanking it towards his chin, exposing his muscular torso, "Where did you get those scars from?"

"VIDEL!" the teenager yelped, though sighed when he caught her glaring eyes, and opted to tell her the truth - for once.

"I got them from a really big cat."

She scoffed, "Seriously?!"

"It really was!" He protested, thinking back to the battle with the fire breathing Chimera a couple of years back that had nearly ripped his chest cavity open. But Videl didn't need to hear that.

The girl growled, finally releasing his shirt that was now all crumpled from her attack. "I told you that I've had enough of your games. I was willing to go along with them and help you at first, but breaking into my friends lab? You've gone too far. Now you tell me who the hell you are and what you're doing here you damned thief before I call the security bots, or better yet, have me and my friends force it out of you. And by force, I mean beat."

Oh dear, this was not going well.

"Videl, look," he tried to reason, "I assure you I'm harmless. I just stumbled upon this place and it was already like this. If I really were a thief don't you think I would have already robbed _you_ these last couple of days?"

Videl pondered this for a moment, before shaking her head and narrowing her eyes dangerously towards him, "Thief or no thief, theres a lot that doesn't add up about you _Beerus_."

He blinked, unsure of where this was going.

"For one you appear out of nowhere in a barren wasteland in the strangest clothes," she started, her brow furrowed in thought, "With no hospital for miles, no transport on you or capsules, its debatable where you came from. You seemed to know where you were but with no memory of what had happened over the past eight years, which was why I initially thought you had amnesia. But then things started happening around you, like the robbery with The Red Shark Gang. How was it that you were able to take them all out like that without Marron noticing? The fumes from the car bomb sounded like a logical explanation. I accepted it, but then there was more.

Buu collapsed suddenly without any previous complaint of a tummy ache, and who was standing above him, but you… then you disappear after our dance and Vegeta blasts a hole through the building, something which Bulma informs me that he hasn't done for _years_. What makes it even stranger is that you seem completely unfazed by everything you've seen so far since meeting me. As if all this chaos is _normal_ and you're used to it happening around you. The only time I saw you uncomfortable was when you were sat at the table with me and my friends!

Then I find you here, in the most secure laboratory in the whole of Capsule Corp. surrounded by Bulma's stuff with no clue as to how the bloody hells you managed to get in here without setting the alarms off!

And what really _really_ bugs me is that the name Beerus doesn't turn up on any database on the planet! It's like you don't even exist! I've had enough! So spill!"

Gohan stared at her with one eyebrow raised. He couldn't help but be impressed. The girl was good. Still, he had no intention of telling her the truth, he barely even knew Videl, and for all he knew she could go running her mouth to the rest of the Z-gang and expose him.

"Well Videl," he started, giving her a winning smile, "It was really nice to meet you and all but I can't stay around and chit chat, got things to do, people to see, a prophecy to fulfil and to get the hell off this planet and probably destroy a bad guy."

"Wait what-?!" she gaped, as the young saiyan all but kissed her hand in a gentlemanly bow before winking up at her.

"It's a shame, I really did enjoy that dance too."

She failed to hide her blush, though quickly got over her shock as the teen scarpered away from her with intent of finding Piccolo and asking if he could lay low at The Lookout for a while. Videl raised her voice with fury, making to race after him, "You come back here right now! Tell me who the hell you are!"

He spun around quickly, flashing her a cheeky smirk before stepping over the threshold, "Sorry Videl, but some things are better kept a secret! Wouldn't want to ruin the magic!"

 _"Goodbye Son Gohan, thanks for visiting."_

Gohan and Videl froze.

A thick tension swept over the room as the young saiyan gaped, couldn't that daft woman, robot, whatever it was have skipped the pleasantries and kept her mouth shut?!

All he wanted to do was bang his head off the doorframe, and he almost did, that was before he managed to refrain from doing so and turned to face the utterly flabbergasted girl behind him. If it wasn't for the situation being so serious, he would have laughed. Videl's face was a mixture of awe, horror and bewilderment - though he took solace in the fact that he had finally managed to shut the girl up.

However, her reaction was quickly taking a turn for the worst, as he followed Videl's gaze upwards to where the light from the hallway had reflected above his head, capturing his shining golden halo in a brilliant glow. Gohan felt like slapping himself, it was unusual of him to act so careless. Both Lord Beerus and Whis would be having a field day if they knew that he had forgotten to re-conceal the very thing that knowingly separated him from the living.

"Y-you…," Videl managed to croak out, her sapphire eyes finally tearing away from the offending halo to his own, "Y-you have a h-halo."

"Yeah," he said somewhat nervously, hoping to lighten the mood with a joke, "It's what they tend to dish out to you when you're dead. Sort of like a morbid trophy."

This apparently was too much for the girl to take in, and Gohan caught onto it straight away. The way she continued to stare, wide eyed at him, she did not laugh, nor did her lips even twitch in amusement. He had watched it happen in front of him far too many times to count, sometimes when he had all but appeared before someone. He was supposed to be one of the most frightening presences in the universe after all. From his experience, it could go one or two ways from here, sort of like a flight or fight response but a million times worse. For the young Destroyer knew that when someone was giving him a look like that, one of pure shock and/or terror, that they would either faint, or scream.

He watched her carefully, much preferring the former for he didn't want to be discovered - or his ear drums to be offended quite frankly.

 _Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream. Don't scream._ He chanted in his mind, his onyx eyes pleading with her.

Videl's breath suddenly hitched, her lungs filling with air -

 _Damn it!_

Thinking quickly, Gohan flicked his wrist, and in an instant the girl was encased in a spherical golden shield just before she released her scream to the heavens. He couldn't help but snicker, as the soundproof dome did nothing but make Videl look like a crazy person, her mouth agape in a silent and prolonged cry. _Very_ prolonged.

It must have been quite the scream, he pondered, cocking his head to one side, he could even see her tonsils.

* * *

 _30th December, 2018._

* * *

 _A/N: Chimera - was, according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing hybrid creature composed of the parts of more than one animal. It is usually depicted as a lion, with the head of a goat arising from its back, and a tail that might end with a snake's head. - for anyone wondering about the giant 'cat' that gave Gohan the claw-like scars on his chest._

 _Also, I went a little bit more nostalgic for this chapter, I hope the change in pace was appreciated. It'll certainly pick up again next chapter. Though expect a few water works. (sobbin'hell)_

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 **Reviews:**

Aaron Leach: thank you!

Lightningblade49: Videl is very smart. Gohan thinks so too ;)

Reacted : me too! itll be a couple of chapters away yet by my reckoning but I plan on a BIG reveal.

ashlovesdbz : thank you so much! really hope you enjoyed this chapter too.

FireEmblemMaster101: i see your point! I am glad you enjoyed seeing Vegeta :) and Gohan's crumbling stealth mission!

Sos Dovah: possibly ;)

MadmanJrs: absolutely. Id like to think that Vegeta would worry about Gohan, develop a sense of pride towards him. Even HE thought that Goku was an idiot for sending his son to fight. And glad you like the videl/gohan parts. I really wanted this sense of Videl as a strong young woman but unfortunately, she ends up falling for the wrong type. But is gohan the exemption?

FeathersofMemory: thanks so much for your review! I cannot wait to get to the part where Gohan is revealed. I am super super excited for you to read it!

phyre1129: thank you! glad you do!

yunayuu : pissing vegeta off is my favourite past time in story writing ;)

Knightwing20042: thanks! glad you like the greek mythology references!

TheDoodlerofWriteing: Beerus is the god of destruction and has been for billions of years so naturally he can go wherever he wants. Gohan is a destoryer in training so he cant return to earth his homeworld. If people were able too whilst still training then they may be tempted to keep going back, which slows down the whole process, ends up ignoring their duties etc. It takes centuries to become a god of destructions usually. so by the time that happens the junior destoryers family and friends would be long dead anyway so there would be no point. :) hope that helps!

Masquer Q : you literally hit this Gohan's personality on the head! ' A bit serious and responsible, but also cheeky and emotionally driven' thank you friend! xD

eliteshadow: thank you! hope i didnt dissapoint with this chapter!

romanovascap : thank you!

victor0606 : thanks!

keyblademeister88: wow thank you!

Joe: so glad youre enjoying it!

warriorofdark: im so glad youre finding it funny! :)

EleazarTheUnforgotten : thank you! im glad your found it funny. It makes my life!

Iwik:thanks so much! SO much gohan and videl coming up I cant wait to share!

Super Cyrax: on the next episode...

Leafeon12 : xD

shrushtee: thank you!

mugetsuga1998: thanks :)

X3runner : haha glad youre enjoying the story! Always wanted Gohan to be a little bit of a stud and be a bit more aware of it than Goku was!

DragonCrusader : yeah, it didnt ;)

Razz : VEGETA YES!

Gelid : hahaha yes love that reaction!

ghoul: the answer is im not sure when it will be completed... or how many chapters this story will be... but expect many more chapters because were on Cpter 14 and it is NOWHERE near finished!

LilRocboogie: thank you so much! i hope i didnt dissapoint. im aware that this chapter is FAR more nostalgic.

Drunktalez: thank you! I do aim to have Toppo make an appearance... SPOILER

N.O : thanks for your review! im excited for whats to come!

Gremlinite : wow what a fab bit of feedback! thanks so much it really does mean alot :)

Erin: thank you so much for your review. I hope you dont scare your husband if you gasp because I managed to post 2 chapters in a month Xd :P and im so so glad your are loving it!

Dezzal: thanks fair, if your loosing interest in then no worries! Videl is 19 correct, she could have had a few BFs by that time, and not all of them long term. shes a pretty girl who knows what she wants and been on dates and what not. She also is an amazing police officer and trains with Goku, so she has done a lot other than dating. She just needs to find the right guy ;) I doubt videl would put up with someone who is annoying her for more than a week. she can figure out people pretty quickly. hense this chapter. if youre still reading that is. but if not i hope its a good explanation for everyone else. I dont mind criticism at all. Gohan has not been around his family for eight years, a lot of things have changed. He wouldnt go in there guns blazing acting like a total badass at first - that comes later :)

SatanicLover666Illuminati: *in voice of Thor* ANOTHER!

JemDragons: I wouldnt judge you, but i am not really a fan of SS4. sorry! (dont hate me ppl)

Guest(Erin): happy holidays to you too! hope you had a good time and enjoy the update.

Dan2018 : thank you! here it is!


	15. The Empty Bedroom

_A/N: Good evening and a very Happy New Year to everyone! Thank you so much for all your reviews of my story so far, it really does help with my direction and the positive comments (thank you!) really urge me to keep writing more and more. I am forever humbles dear readers. I think this is the longest chapter I've written thus far, taking me pretty much 2 whole days to write. I don't know how I managed to do it, but I pretty much just listened to My Hero Academia soundtrack constantly haha. There are a couple of scene changes, but I wanted to showcase a few things and get some things cleared up nicely here because the next chapter REALLY gets into the meat of the story. I think it's safe to say that you have all been enjoying the starter thus far, now prepare for your main course (why am I speaking TFS Goku language...it's past my bedtime probably...) Oh I am so excited it is unreal!_

 _I literally sit here editing this and starting writing up the next chapter as we speak - the next few are mapped out. So I really hope I can get them out more swiftly to you without loosing the quality. I cannot get over how much following this story has (feeling pressured to get it right!) so honestly thank you so much._

 _Now to end this authors note, I will finish with a summary that I had in a review for the last chapter which made me giggle. So thanks to RedDragonforce1! And as always, enjoy! ES x_

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 _Narrator's voice: LAST TIME, our Junior Destroyer managed to get the festivities to wind down thanks to the Hot-Headed Prince, allowing him to search for the Dragon Radar. During his search, he gets lost in memories of the past and fails to notice the time when suddenly... Videl enters that same lab. Upon being cornered, Gohan tries to make his escape, only for the security system to ring out at that moment: "Goodbye Son Gohan, thanks for visiting." How will Gohan deal with a now hysteric Satan? Find out now on "Son Gohan The Destroyer"!_

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 **Chapter Fifteen**

 **The Empty Bedroom**

 **xxxx**

It took Videl a little while to realise that she was encased in a soundproof forcefield, and when she did finally manage to stop screaming, her eyes blinked up at him through the golden shell in shock. He grinned back at her sheepishly, giving her a small wave, which only preceded to enrage her. Her teeth gritted in an angered snarl, her fierce eyes glinting with malice as she began shouting a string of silent obscenities at him, banging her fists relentlessly upon the shield which only caused him to burst out laughing.

Videl was seething at the sight of his mirth, stomping her foot on the ground like a toddler having a tantrum.

It was actually kind of cute.

"Stop laughing at me!" she mouthed angrily through the shield, folding her arms across her chest in a huff.

"Only if you promise you won't scream," he told her, grinning in triumph when she reluctantly nodded her head.

At once, the golden ball disappeared around her, though the Satan girl was still gaping at him in shock.

A pregnant pause drifted in between the two teenagers, until Videl was finally able to speak.

"You're Gohan." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

He nodded, "I am."

"You saved the world," she choked out, barely breathing as she continued to stare.

"I suppose."

"You killed Cell."

"Oh brutally so."

"And you're here."

"Against my will and better judgement."

"But you're dead."

"As a dodo!"

"And you're not a kid."

"I grew up, dead kids are allowed to do that."

"Why are you here?"

"It's a long story."

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Maybe."

Videl frowned at his answer, though her eyes were positively drinking him in, as if seeing him for the very first time since he had saved her on that fateful day.

"I need to sit down," she said finally, her knees buckling slightly before Gohan grabbed Bulma's desk chair and guided her to it.

She seemed rather breathless as she sat, gripping onto the edge of her seat with her nails as the young saiyan knelt before her.

"Are you alright?" he asked tentatively, watching her carefully as she looked towards him once more.

"I just can't believe that it's actually _you_ ," Videl gasped weakly, heaving in a deep breath before putting her head in her heads, "Great Kami I feel like I'm talking to a ghost."

"Well I mean, technically speaking you are," the teenager chuckled, prompting her to give him a playful glare through her fingertips.

"But I don't understand," said Videl, lifting her head and leaning towards him, "Why are you here? Now? After all this time?"

"It's complicated Videl," he sighed, "I don't even know where to begin."

"Try me," she stated, folding her arms across her chest in defiance.

"Alright," said Gohan, eyeing her, "But you have to promise not to tell any one."

She blinked in surprise, "Not even your parents?"

" _Especially_ not my parents."

"B-but how can you hide yourself from them?!" Videl started disbelievingly, "Gohan you have to tell them! They'll be thrilled, more than that, they'll-!"

"I can't stay," he interrupted, silencing her, "I'm here for one purpose and one purpose only. They can't know Videl. Please."

She swallowed hard, struggling to accept his answer, "You said something about a prophecy…"

"Yeah," he nodded, "A prophecy about a Super Saiyan God. Long story short, after I died I was chosen for a higher purpose. It's why the Eternal Dragon wasn't able to reach me in the dimension I was taken to. I was chosen to train amongst the Gods in order to maintain the balance in the universe. And now there's an evil nutcase trapped in a dark dimension threatening that balance, and I need to find out how to become this Super Saiyan God incase I need to use that power to win against him should he escape, hence breaking into Bulma's lab and stealing - _borrowing_ \- the dragon radar so that I can ask Shenron."

"A God, you're going to become a _God_? That's crazy," she muttered, attempting to process the information, she was stunned, "So you've only returned to summon the dragon?"

"I have to lay low for a month before I can do so," Gohan replied, "I know I lied, and I'm sorry, but it's only to keep those I love out of this mess, Piccolo and Vegeta are the only ones that know about me, and I don't want anyone getting hurt when I have to leave again."

"But your family," she argued, her eyes fierce, "How can you lie to them like that? How can you just up and leave without saying goodbye? Don't you realise how much they've missed you?"

He gulped, before being able to find his words again, "It's hard for me too Videl, I was never supposed to come back here, ever. I've made peace with my decision, but seeing them all together like this, it's really making it really difficult _not_ to tell them who I really am. I miss them all so much, but just look around you, I'm not apart of this world anymore."

"Do you really believe that?" she asked, her gaze searching him knowingly.

Gohan gave her a sad smile, shaking his head, "It doesn't matter what I believe. All that matters is that my family and friends are safe and happy."

Videl was silent for a few moments, taking in all that he had said.

"But what about you?"

"My power was meant to do far greater things than just protect the Earth," he said, avoiding her question somewhat, "If I don't fulfil my destiny then it could mean the end of the universe. And I won't let anything like that happen when I have the power to prevent it."

A smile quirked at her lips, "You really are a hero, Gohan."

"Well, I don't know about that," he chuckled darkly, averting his gaze for all but a moment.

He didn't know why, but he just couldn't bring himself to tell her of his true role in the universe. He had already said too much after all. He met her gaze, only to see her sad but humbled smile and searching awe filled eyes looking back at him.

Would she still look at him like that if he told her that his sole purpose was for destruction? He doubted it.

The teenagers realised that they had been staring at each other for a while, though it was Videl who cleared her throat and turned away.

"S-so, how did you even get in here anyway?" she asked him curiously, a light blush upon her cheeks.

The young saiyan smiled rather smugly, "I used to have an access code before the new security system was built. Bulma must have rigged in my details after I died, probably to test it out, the system recognised me straight away and -."

He stopped short suddenly, his eyes widening in horror.

"You just realised that your entry to Bulma's lab will flag up on her system didn't you?" Videl said with mild amusement, eyeing the teen who was now on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"I-I -," he started, how could he have been so stupid?! He had been so eager to get into the lab to find the dragon radar, so in awe that the system still recognised him that he didn't even think that Bulma might be a little curious as to why the name _'Son Gohan'_ had suddenly appeared on her lab records after eight years of being dead! Idiot!

"You're not very good at being stealthy are you?" she chuckled, causing the young Destroyer to shoot her a most hateful glare.

"Evidently not," he spat, before heaving a begrudging sigh, a ball of Ki growing at the tip of his finger, "Well, there's only one thing for it."

Videl frowned, "Wait, what are you - ?"

 **BOOM.**

 _Sorry Bulma,_ Gohan cringed, watching as the bloke smoke filtered from the control panel that manned the main security system, that was now sparking and jerking before crumbling into a heap by the door. _That might take you a while to fix._

Even if it only took her a couple of months to re-wire a new one and find out that he had been here, the teenager would be long gone by then. And there would be no other logical reasoning than a system malfunction… or a ghost…

Ha, he just got visions of him haunting Vegeta.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

Gohan whirled around, as Videl's angered scowl greeted him, "You can't just fix your problems by blowing them up you know!"

"Why not?" he shrugged, giving her a wicked grin, "It worked on Cell."

The Satan girl rolled her eyes, "Were you always this insufferable as a kid?"

"Piccolo or Vegeta might be able to give you a straight answer on that one," Gohan chuckled, before directing his gaze around the rest of the lab and in the blink of an eye, frazzled the security cameras with another shock of Ki.

"I thought you were supposed to be a boy genius the way your mum carries on," Videl observed haughtily when he had finished, "Couldn't you have rewired the system or something so that it erased any log of you being here?"

He scoffed, "I may be good Videl but I'm not _that_ good. What on earth did you expect? I was _eleven_ when I died and I've been fighting alien monsters and protecting the universe from imbalance for the last eight years, not studying for a PhD in mechanics and engineering."

At his words, heat rose to her cheeks, "Well, I just thought -"

"And besides," he smirked, "Blowing things up is _much_ faster."

Videl face-palmed, before looking at the desolation around her, "Come on, we'd better clean up this mess before anyone sees. And no destroying it! Honestly it's as if you've got a habit for that or something."

 _You have no idea,_ Gohan thought in amusement, as he bent down to pick up a load of files and diagrams that he had flung to the floor on the search for the dragon radar.

"So how come you have access to Bulma's lab?" he asked after they had worked for a couple of minutes in silence - with both of them cleaning up the junior Destroyer's mess it was proving to be quite efficient. "Are you into science or something?"

Was it insanely geeky of him to drool at the thought?

"Not exactly," she told him, and the nerd inside of him couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, "I like to pop in from time to time and keep Bulma company. You know how she likes to gossip. That, and she was pretty helpful when it came to my bomb disposal training with the police. She gave me an all access pass after that."

"Oh right, that's… great," said Gohan finally, it was kind of strange just how close Videl was to his friends and family.

"Here, give me those," Videl instructed, taking a large stack of files off his hands with ease before placing them in the cabinet. She stepped back, closing the door with a snap before turning towards him with a triumphant smile, "There, all done."

"Thanks," he smiled back, "Thanks for helping. And also for not screaming."

"I suppose I've seen enough in the past twelve months what with hanging around with your friends and family to become somewhat desensitised," she shrugged with an exasperated sigh, "Though _you_ certainly take the biscuit. And the prize for being the most weirdest thing that has happened to me so far. Congratulations."

The teenager grinned cheekily, "So what did I win?"

"My silence," the girl stated, "For now. Until I decide what to do with you for the next month that is."

He stared at her wearily, "You're not going to tell anybody I was here are you?"

She smirked, "That depends…"

His eyes widened, was she _blackmailing_ him? He only knew of two people in the universe who would even _dare_ to blackmail _him_. But yet it was still happening, and worst of all, he was letting it.

"On what?"

"… on if you'll spend the next couple of days with me…"

Gohan blinked, was that all? He'd be _more_ than happy to if that was the case. "Alright, deal."

"… where I'll be staying in Mount Paozu with your family," she added swiftly, causing his eyes to bug out of his sockets.

Wait, WHAT?!

"Videl! That's mental!" he protested, "You _know_ I can't!"

"It'll be fine," she waved off, "I'll cover for you."

"It's not about that Videl, I just can't - "

"It's just a couple of days," said Videl, frowning at him disapprovingly, "You should spend some time with your parents before you leave, and spend time with the little brother that you never got to meet. He's a great kid you know."

He paused, allowing the girl to continue with knowing eyes, "I know it might sound crazy Gohan, but I would give anything to see my mum again, to spend time with her, even without her knowing me being there."

"You're mum?" he asked quietly, though he was sure he already knew the answer to his question.

"She died a long time ago," she told him with a sad yet accepting sigh, "But there's a difference, I had a chance to say goodbye. You still might not get that seen as your family don't know who you really are, but making a few more happy memories with them before you have to leave might just soften the blow."

Gohan stared at the girl for a while, "Why are you doing this? It seems like a lot of trouble to go through just for me."

" _Just_ for _you_?" Videl guffawed, "If you haven't already clocked on to the present _wonder boy_ then you need to realise that you didn't just save this entire planet from that big bastard cockroach, you saved me too - directly might I add. If you didn't stop that blast when you did I would have been nothing but a scorch mark on the ground. And if you leave Earth again feeling that little more complete, well, it's the least I could do."

The young saiyan couldn't help but smile at that, his chest feeling a little lighter. Especially with the nickname she had so readily bestowed upon him. It sounded much better than ' _Golden Boy Wonder'_ in his opinion.

"Besides, it's no big deal," she shrugged, "I've already booked a couple of days off work to stay over at Goku and Chi-Chi's and get some training in. And I'm certain that Chi-Chi won't mind someone else to cook for."

"Oh yeah, she's a feeder," he chuckled, Videl grinning widely back at him.

He really couldn't resist those twinkling eyes of hers.

Finally, he sighed, "Fine, I'll go if it will stop you from pestering the HFIL out of me."

"And don't be so worried," the raven-haired beauty stated, "I can always help you search for the dragonballs later. We have to take these opportunities whilst there are, else our lives will be full of regrets - well, afterlife in your case."

The teenager couldn't help but roll his eyes at her words, "Ugh, you sound just like Piccolo."

Videl smirked triumphantly, "I'll take that as a compliment."

* * *

Gohan had never seen so much energy contained in one person before, especially one that was so small. His estranged little brother was like an inflated party balloon that someone had left untied and then immediately released. He virtually bounced off the walls - sometimes literally - his lips moving a mile a minute as he talked, forever tumbling over his words as he struggled to get them out all in one breath.

Oh yes, Son Goten was every inch the opposite of what Gohan was as a child.

And as soon as Videl's jetcopter touched down at their destination the next morning was the young boy in question already racing across the grass towards them. The two teenagers had successfully managed to avoid a sleepover at Capsule Corp., much to his relief. Instead they had left shortly after their rendezvous in Bulma's lab, retiring back to Videl's apartment with Bee barking loudly from the jetcopter as a vast array of fireworks swept over Orange Star City, completing the celebrations for the day until next year. Gohan had barely slept a wink all night on the less than comfortable sofa, dreading how he would keep himself hidden right under his mother and father's nose for the next three days and subsequently meeting his little brother properly for the first time.

Though at first the halfling's focus was not on his father's mini copy who tackled a laughing Videl to the ground in a fierce hug - Bee licking at his face and barking playfully. No, at first his eyes were glued to the small bricked cottage at the edge of the forest, the chimney trickling out smoke in a thin unfurling column just like he had always remembered, even in the summer months.

He took it all in, the domed structure, the little thatched roofed buildings behind the main complex - one of which housed his old bedroom, which he was certain belonged to Goten now. The glorious smell of pine trees that he had grown all to accustomed to as boy, the clear unpolluted air, the trickling stream not to far away, and the beautiful silhouette of the Eastern mountain range upon the horizon. He remembered all the adventures he'd had in the forest surrounding his home, the family picnics that he, his mother, father and grandfather would go on in the lush green meadows that he knew lay beyond the thick trees. He could just picture the sparkling lake with the best fish for miles that resided just over the mountain, and the small village that nestled just beyond that in the valley.

Cotton sheets, freshly washed along with a few fluffy white towels flapped in the slight summer breeze on the washing line near the house. And judging by the heat of the day, with the sun beating down upon them, they would be dry in no time, allowing his mother to hang out another load. The old steel tub that he and his father used to bathe in some nights when the skies were clear and the stars were high still stood in place by the garage, where his grandfather's tools lay. His father was never that good at handiwork after all, though he tried his best. Still, he was more than adept at chopping down trees for firewood with his barehands.

Several bluebirds flew overhead, singing an afternoon song that carried over the humble home. And Gohan breathed deeply, relishing in the home comforts that wrapped around him like an old familiar blanket. Maybe Videl was right after all, he was starting to feel a little better already.

Indeed, it was as though nothing about his former home had changed at all, except -

"Hi Mister! Are you Videl's friend? What's your name?! How old are you? My name's Goten and I'm eight! You're hair is sooooooo long and spikey! My Mum says that kids with long hair look like punks and don't have any job prospects! Do _you_ have a job? Oh oh! You we're at the party yesterday, did you see that weird frog that Trunks threw at me? Trunks is my bestest best friend in the whole wide world but he can be a bit mean sometimes. Dad says that it's because Uncle Vegeta teaches him to swear. Do you know any good swear words? Can you teach me?!"

Gohan was utterly perplexed, staring blankly at the child who all but bounced around him in a circle, his wild hair whipping about his face, his cheery grin never wavering.

This was certainly going to take some getting used to.

"Goten," Videl warned, though she failed to hide her laughter, "Stop harassing him will you? You little imp. This is my friend Beerus, you remember him from the party last night don't you? I'm going to ask your mum if he can stay with us whilst we train."

"Wow that's so cool Videl!" Goten beamed, his obsidian eyes widening in wonder, "Is he fun to play with?"

Gohan coughed awkwardly, trying not to think of the racy implications that just jumped into his mind. Damn it, he was starting to think like Z! What a shuddering thought that was.

"Very fun," Videl laughed him off, "But not the sparring kind, so you'll have to find something else fun to do."

"Aw okay," the boy pouted disappointedly, eyeing the teen up and down. Though the young Destroyer in training was rather glad of the whole 'weakling' picture Videl was painting for him, for if he was put into a situation around his family where he would have to show off his power, he was certain to be discovered.

"Videl, is that you?" a feminine voice called from inside the house, his mother's frowning face suddenly peering out of the open door before she broke out into a sweet smile and hurried across the grass to greet her. Bee's tail wagging furiously at the sight.

"It's so lovely to have you as always, oh and _hello_ Bee," the ox-princess spoke with affection, pulling the girl into a motherly embrace before her eyes settled on the young man next to her, her features suddenly becoming stern. "I see you've brought your… friend."

Before Gohan had a chance to open in mouth, his little brother cut across him.

"Yeah Mum, this is Beerus!" Goten chimed happily, "He was just about to teach me loads of cool swear words!"

"No I wasn't!" The teenager gaped angrily at him, _that little shit!_

"What?!" Chi-Chi growled as she rounded on the half-saiyan.

"Goten's just teasing Chi-Chi," Videl said smoothly, stepping in between them before his mother attempted to deck him to the ground, "Beerus said nothing of the sort. Do you need help with making lunch? I can't sense Goku around."

Calming down considerably, his mother smiled at the girl's generosity, "That would be lovely, thank you Videl. You're such a nice girl. You know, if my Gohan were still alive…"

"I _know_ Chi-Chi," Videl said pointedly, as the boy in question rolled his eyes behind them, "Now, where did you say Goku was?"

"Oh he's just finishing off planting the last of the seeds for harvest," she informed her, "He'll be back soon. Why don't we get lunch started? There's a lot to do and I wouldn't want to delay your training."

As his mother led the way back inside the cosy cottage, did Gohan take the opportunity to whisper into Videl's ear, Chi-Chi and Goten too busy trying to stop Bee from running rampant in the house to notice.

"What is it with her obsession of marrying you off to her long dead son?!" he hissed in annoyance, stepping over the threshold and taking the girl's denim jacket, hanging it up for her on the peg almost automatically.

"Oh hush," she whispered, an amused smile playing on her lips as she kicked off her shoes, "Let a woman dream, would you?"

The halfling scoffed, kicking off his own sneakers and placing them neatly next to hers.

"Besides," Videl smirked playfully, "I'll have you know that I am _quite_ the catch Wonder Boy."

And with that she tossed her long raven hair over her shoulder, leaving him gawping after her in the middle of the hall. Shaking his head with a satisfied smile, he stalked up behind her, making to whisper a flirtatious retort into her ear when he was interrupted by Goten screeching in his eardrums.

"Mum! Mum! Can I show Beerus my room?!" he asked with undeniable glee as he and Videl entered the brightly light kitchen.

From what Gohan could see, not much had changed about the room apart from a fresh lick of paint. The wooden table still stood proudly in the centre of the room, with four chairs surrounding it and a vase of flowers atop the table. White painted cupboards lined the walls, along with several large pots and pans hanging above the ancient stove, giving the whole place a rather homely feel. His mother looked over at them from where she was already busy taking meats and salad out of the fridge, and shoving Bee's nose away with her foot.

"Oh it's fine, really," the teen tried to protest before his mother could answer, but Videl wasn't having any of it.

"That's a great idea Goten, and very nice of you to show Beerus around like that," she smiled almost wickedly at the halfling before turning to the matriarch of the household, "Isn't that nice of him Chi-Chi?"

"Well, I suppose," the woman blinked, before turning to her youngest, "If it will keep you from sneaking any food before it's ready then it's good enough for me. Just try not to make a mess now young man, do you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am!" Goten saluted, grinning madly before grabbing Gohan's hand and yanking him towards the stairs.

It was with a great amount of will power did the teenager allow himself to be pulled along by the spritely child. His younger brother's face was emanating nothing but pure euphoria, he looked as though he was about to spontaneously combust from excitement.

He sighed, as Goten decided to take him on a tour of the house before showing off his room as the main event. He had very nearly done a runner altogether when the boy showed him the bathroom and his friend 'Mr. Toilet' whose favourite food was bums - as an eight year old boy Goten thought that his joke was hilarious, Gohan however did not.

Rounding the corner and away from Mr. Toilet, the teenager was on autopilot, moving back towards the stairs where his old bedroom was. That was, until Goten stopped him.

"Oi where are you going Beerus? My room's this way!" He called, cocking his head to one side, "Don't you want to see my toys?"

Gohan frowned, eyeing the boy as he began to open the door adjacent to his, a spare bedroom that was only really used when his grandfather or Krillin came to stay over. They had offered it to Piccolo as a room for the three years they trained for the android's attack, though the Namekian had gruffly declined, much preferring the outdoors. That and he had told the young boy that he didn't want to put up with his father's snoring - truth be told, Gohan couldn't really blame him.

"What's in that room then?" the halfling blurted suddenly, unable to stop himself from wondering about his old bedroom.

He was surprised to see that the cheery grin almost slipped off his little brother's face as he looked towards the door. His eyes darted around him cautiously, as though the walls had ears, and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"That's my big brother's room," said Goten carefully, it was almost strange to see him acting a little serious for once, "His name was Gohan and he died _ages_ ago, like before I was born. He saved the world and stuff, you know, from that Cell monster?"

Gohan nodded quietly, so many questions springing to mind.

"Me and Trunks aren't allowed to play in there," the boy continued, "I've only been in there a couple of times when I was really little. But I wouldn't want to now anyway, it creeps me out. Trunks says that it's probably haunted."

The young Destroyer couldn't help but snort at that, causing his brother to frown.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, sorry Goten," he replied in amusement, "But there's nothing to be scared of. I don't think there'd be any ghosts in there, it's only a room."

Goten's eyes widened slightly at the point he had made, "Well, I suppose my mum and dad go in there sometimes and they're fine. Mum to clean and stuff and Dad… well, I don't really know what he does in there. I don't think he's seen a ghost though."

Gohan swallowed, he was afraid of the answer, but he was more than curious, "Do your parents ever tell you anything about Gohan?"

"Sometimes they tell me stories," he shrugged, somewhat indifferently, "They tell me things like how strong and smart he was. He sounded pretty cool, from what people say about him. But that's it really, if I ask them anything more than what they wanna tell me, they get all sad. I think it's because the Dragonballs couldn't bring him back to life and nobody knows the reason why."

"I'm sorry Goten," he said suddenly, the words leaving his mouth before he had any real time to process them.

"It's alright, don't be sorry," said Goten, the infectious grin coming back full force, "How can I be sad about loosing something that was never there in the first place?"

As annoying as the kid was, his words certainly stung a bit. Gohan was rather unprepared for that, but he supposed that what Goten had spoken was truth after all. He wondered what it must have been like for him growing up? What with his parents grieving for this supposedly 'amazing' kid that he had never met. It must have been hard. He didn't blame Goten for acting so indifferent towards his death.

"So, wanna play superheroes?" the boy asked, smiling brightly up at him.

"Yeah Goten," Gohan smiled back, albeit sadly, "I'd like that."

It wasn't until later, after they had exhausted almost every toy Goten owned - and great galaxies were there a lot of them, was the teen saiyan finally able to make his escape from the depths of hell that was his brother's bedroom. He had only managed to break free of the mountain of toys, crayons and sticky residue of chocolate and sweets the boy had no doubt stolen _months_ ago when their mother called Goten downstairs to help her set the table.

Shaking his hair free of a piece of Lego that had somehow worked it's way into to the long mass of spikes, the teenager stepped out onto the landing, his feet padding softly on the carpeted floor as he made his way sneakily towards his old bedroom. He stretched out his senses momentarily so as to not get caught breaking into his own room - the thought was quite honestly ridiculous - but found that his mother's, Goten's and Videl's Ki were all safely in the kitchen.

Grasping hold of the handle, which he was mildly surprised to find no longer squeaked, he pushed open the door only to feel like he had stepped into a time capsule.

It was the same.

The same wooden bed and neatly folded blue sheets, the same desk, outdated curtains, wardrobe and bookshelf laden with history books - chemistry, physics and mathematics and more. All of them with faded covers, dating from Age 767 right the way back to 760 when his mother had given him his first exercise books to try out. Though he was unsurprised to find that they didn't have a speck of dust on them, no doubt thanks to his house proud mother.

Stepping into the old bedroom he would bet money on - _creak_ \- yep, the squeaky floorboard next the the chest of draws that he used to avoid for want of not getting caught sneaking out to see Icarus or Mister Piccolo. Tiptoeing swiftly across the room, and opening the wardrobe door as quietly as he could he nearly gasped aloud. This was too much. All of his clothes were _still_ here, albeit far too small for him now. Some were even a bit moth eaten and smelled a bit musty, but he spotted a couple of familiar outfits - namely the purple gi's and white scarfs he used to train in.

Closing the door with a snap, his onyx eyes scanned the room with a kind of strange bewilderment. Old faded drawings were pinned above his desk, along with the odd family photo and a rather shaky one of Piccolo that he must have taken in secret. It was surreal, nothing had changed apart from the fact that the bedroom hadn't been inhabited in eight years. Even the telescope, a present he had received from his grandfather on his last birthday on Earth was set up at the window, pointed up towards the sky. It has been the last birthday he had ever celebrated, seen as he hadn't been keeping count in his afterlife. Gohan even remembered setting it up himself after the small party his parents had held for him, along withthe scolding he had received from his parents for staying up _way_ past his bedtime to scan the stars with it.

Grandpa Ox was always one for buying such elaborate gifts, and this telescope in particular was very fancy, it must have cost him a lot of Zeni. It was such a shame, the young saiyan thought, running his fingers along the shiny white-painted instrument, he had only used it once before he had died. He had thought it to be so cool back then too. Only now he had seen millions of stars and countless planets up close, he doubted it would be the same anymore.

He sighed, deciding that enough was enough and that he should head to the kitchen, when the sound of footsteps reached his ears.

 _Shit_ , he groaned inwardly, feeling his mother's Ki already at the top of the stairs. She was bound to notice that the door to her dead son's room was ajar, and would no doubt accuse Goten of sneaking in there if he just teleported away. An odd sense of brotherhood suddenly come over him, and as much as the child was irritating and a bit of a brat, he didn't really want him to get into trouble. That, and he had just been through five rounds of beating up Mister Wiggles the evil teddy bear with him in a desperate struggle to save the Lego castle. He couldn't just throw him under the bus after all that.

So, like any good older brother would, he turned to face the music when his mother pushed open the door, a wooden spoon in her hand and an apron tied around her waist. Her lips were pursed in annoyance and she had a deep frown upon her face.

"What the-?" Chi-Chi stopped short, her eyes widening as she caught the teenager standing sheepishly by the telescope.

"Oh sorry," Gohan started before she could yell at him, "I was looking for the bathroom and I got lost…and distracted."

His mother eyed him sceptically for all but a moment, before surprisingly breaking out into a smile, "You like astronomy?"

He blinked, looking from his old birthday present to her again, "Oh yeah, I'm really into it actually. Pretty clued up on what's out there."

"Really now?" she quipped, her interest suddenly perked, "Videl didn't tell me that she was seeing someone with a scientific inclination."

"Well, we're just friends," the halfling pressed, "though it's true that I do have a firm interest in science. I suppose you could say mainly in the celestial field, space travel, things like that."

"Hm," the ox-princess observed, eyeing him, "So you're interested in building spaceships? Engineering?"

He couldn't help but grin, she was testing him, "Oh I'm more of a discoverer myself."

"Not many job opportunities in that field I'd wager," said Chi-Chi, her lips pursing into a thin line.

"That depends on how good you are at discovering," he replied smoothly, "And for someone that's come across a fair few uncharted galaxies and stars, I'd say that's pretty good."

He watched as her eyes widened, "Well I've never heard of any nineteen year old discovering new astronomical territory. And I should know, I do teach astronomy to my son so I make sure that I'm up to date with that sort of thing."

"Ah it wasn't recent," he shrugged, "It's been er... spread out over the years. Also, parts of space are being discovered all of the time, a lot of it hasn't um… let's say gotten to the end of the row just yet."

To his triumph, his mother looked impressed, "Well, isn't that something. And you know, for somebody with amnesia it seems as though your memory is improving rather well if you can remember that you did all that."

"Dende is a good healer," said Gohan simply, "And Videl is helping me work through some stuff, so a lot of things are coming back to me." _Whether I like it or not_ , he added in his head.

"Well that's good to hear," she replied with a small smile, "I'm glad Videl has been able to help, and it's nice to know that my Gohan had a friend with a smart head on his shoulders for a while…"

She tailed off suddenly, causing his breath to hitch in his throat.

"He loved looking out at the stars too," his mother told him, her gaze drifting to the window, "Oh yes, the planets, the constellations. He knew every one of them off by heart. It's why I had my father get him that telescope for his eleventh birthday - oh his _face_ when he opened it. He was so pleased. I even told him off for staying up so late that night, up until nearly _four am_ he was, it was a wonder that he didn't get a red ring around his eye for how long he was staring up at Andromeda. His father had to literally drag him away from the damned thing, still babbling away about how he could have sworn that he had caught sight of Pluto."

"Yeah, I remember," Gohan laughed without thinking, quickly covering his tracks when Chi-Chi gave him an odd look, "I mean I can remember Gohan telling me about it! He was really excited to show me… heh…"

"Well, usually we keep this room off limits," she explained, though didn't elaborate further as to why, "But if you wanted to come in here and stargaze then you're very welcome to."

"Oh, thank you," he replied awkwardly, as the woman continued.

"It's what I tend to do in here when I need to, and I suppose you'll need something to keep you occupied whilst Goku and Videl are training."

In all honesty, he was rather looking forward to seeing just how his father trained the Satan girl, and find out just how strong they both were. Though he supposed that he could always sneak away and watch a spar between them should one occur - which he had no doubt of. His father's way of training was pretty much learning on the spot. It was the 'show me what you've got' method, that more often that not had him with his face planted in the dirt. Followed by learning how not to get his face planted in the dirt. That was until he became a Super Saiyan and quickly, and unknowingly at the time, surpassed him.

"I do hope the sofa's alright for you," said Chi-Chi, breaking him out of his thoughts, "I was just coming up to get some extra blankets and pillows."

"The sofa's great," he lied, dreading yet another uncomfortable night, he really missed his bed on Lord Beerus' planet, "Thank you."

"It's no bother," she replied curtly, "Though I must stress that we are a strict household, and as such Videl will be sleeping in Goten's room whilst he bunks with my husband and I. Do I need to explain myself further young man?"

"Oh please no!" Gohan blurted, mortified at what his _mother_ of all people was inferring, "I mean er, that's really not necessary. Like I said, we're just friends."

She seemed rather perplexed at his outburst but nodded all the same, "Good. Now Goku should be here any minute, I want you washed up like everyone else and ready to sit down for lunch."

"Yes ma'am," he forced a grin back. Great Zalama he forgot just how pushy his mother could be, though at least she was warming up to him.

As they exited the bedroom, he couldn't help but notice that the woman looked back, her eyes lingering on the old telescope before she led the way back down the stairs.

 _It's what I tend to do in here when I need to._

As his mother's words echoed in his mind he wondered, was she still searching for him amongst the stars?

* * *

How did he keep getting himself into these situations?

Gohan had found himself asking that same question too many times to count since he had arrived back on Earth three days ago. _Three days._ Three days ago several intergalactic royal warlords were trembling under the Junior Destroyer's feet as he managed to reconcile the most chaotic political war in the history of the South Galaxy. Now however, he was sitting on a picnic blanket with a daft dog and his estranged little brother watching his father and the most beautiful girl he had ever - _ahem_ \- Videl, beat the living snot out of each other whilst his mother served them iced lemonade complete with swirly straws.

In all honesty, he wasn't certain which one was more difficult to endure.

It had been an odd day by all accounts, what with spending time with the family he had abandoned for duty without them knowing who he truly was. Fortunately for him, lunch was a quick affair, with his father popping in quite literally with a cheery 'hello' before changing out of his farming attire - which was a whole other oddity in itself - chowing down his food like a starved beast, and then whisking off to some desert with Videl.

Gohan wasn't all too bothered by his father's gluttony, as he was desperately trying to curb his own. His mother's cooking tasted even _better_ than he remembered, and he had to mentally instruct himself to remember to chew before he inhaled every single thing in front of him. He still ate a lot by human standards, though luckily nobody caught on to his half-saiyan eating habits, his mother even remarking that it was 'good to see a young man with a healthy appetite'.

Still, he was disappointed that his father had teleported Videl away before he could so much as ask if he could tag along. Goten wasn't invited either, so Gohan reasoned that it must just be a one on one session that involved teaching rather than sparring, most likely involving Ki control or something that needed a state of calmness and concentration and honestly, who was supposed to concentrate around that kid?

Deciding instead to help his mother with the dishes, and Goten with his homework - something that the headstrong female was practically cooing over ("Oh aren't you just so _helpful_!"), he was subjected to no less than four hours of solid superhero play. By the end of it, he was pondering actually destroying himself, and made a mental note to find out if such a thing was even possible. He was certain that Lord Beerus would tell him in a heartbeat if he asked, and would most likely give him a few tips too.

After slaying the basilisk and saving Narnia, it was dinnertime. Something that the young saiyan was both physically and emotionally ready for. His father and Videl had returned dirt laden and bloody from their training session, the girl in particular looking exhausted but with a beaming smile upon her face. It was certainly strange to see her wearing an orange gi similar to his father, she even sported blue weighted wristbands and a weighted undershirt. He wanted to get every inch of detail out of her, though Chi-Chi had ordered the pair to wash up before he had chance to ask.

He didn't speak much over the glorious roast dinner his mother had prepared, and neither did his father or brother for that matter, something that had amused the teenager greatly as he noticed that the three Son boys certainly shared a similar infatuation with food. All that could be heard was the sound of scraping cutlery, swallowing and scarfing, accompanied by Videl and his mother's light hearted conversation. Though Gohan had sunk in his seat as his mother recounted the phone conversation she'd had with Bulma earlier that afternoon, who had informed her that the security system for her lab had _somehow_ short circuited and how thoroughly peeved she was about it and the weeks of work it would take her to fix it.

"Can we spar after dinner Dad?" Goten had asked over homemade apple pie and ice-cream, " _Please_!"

"That's up to your mother Goten," his father had smiled, "And whether or not you've finished your homework."

Gohan quirked an eyebrow, since when did his father worry about _homework_ of all things?

"But I did finish my homework!" the boy grinned proudly, "Beerus helped me! I know all about triangles now!"

The teen saiyan blushed a little under there stare, as Chi-Chi chortled.

"Oh yes Goten knows all there is to know about pythagorus' theorem now thanks to Beerus," she smiled.

"A python's what?" Goku frowned, causing Gohan and Videl to snort into their pudding and his mother to roll her eyes.

"It doesn't matter Goku," said Chi-Chi, "But seen as you've finished all of your homework Goten, I don't see why we can't have a little spar in the garden. The sun won't be setting for another hour or so."

"Yay!" Goten squealed, looking over at Videl, "I can't wait to see some of your new moves Videl!"

His father grinned, ruffling the boy's hair before scarfing down the rest of his pie and bolting for the back door, "Last one out the door has to wash the dishes!"

"No fair dad!" Goten gasped, swallowing his large mouthful before racing after him, "You got a head start!"

Videl laughed, grabbing an unsuspecting Gohan by the hand and pulling him out of his chair, "Come on!"

"Oh no you don't mister!" Chi-Chi growled, an amused smile playing on her lips before chasing after her husband, leaving the empty bowls behind her much to the young saiyan's shock.

In the end, he and Videl were joint losers, as Gohan was too stunned by his parent's actions - namely his mother's disregard for the washing up and his father's newfound attitude towards homework - to make his feet move.

So that brought him up to the present, after his little brother had berated him and Videl for being 'slow-pokes' and teased them about having to do the dishes together. His father and Videl had taken to their fighting stance, the fresh gi's they had changed into before dinner quickly becoming tattered. Goten was cheering the pair on loudly as they sparred, switching from one to the other as he couldn't quite decided on just who he was rooting for. His mother stood next to him, waving her arms in the air and shouting at them both to be careful, though she seemed throughly entertained. Bee was lying next to him on the blanket, his tail wagging happily as he basked in the outdoors.

Though the teenager's focus was solely on Videl, whose stance he recognised straight away resembled The Turtle School's style. Her movements were fluid, her attacks precise as she whipped through the air - a lot faster than he originally expected. He was even able to get a better read on her Ki, which was significantly higher than usual as she fought his father.

Her sapphire eyes bore a fierce determination as her fists carried through the air, snarling as her attacks were easily parried by his father. Goku was in his base form, and although Gohan could feel him holding back his power considerably, it seemed as though he was enjoying himself, swinging his leg underneath Videl's ankles in an attempt to knock her down. Though to the teen's surprise and elation, she managed to jump into the air at the last second, blocking the man's oncoming elbow before following up with her own spinning kick.

Goku caught her foot before it made impact, grinning widely at the girl as she struggled to free her foot from his iron grasp.

"I'd say that's enough for a warm up," he said, still smiling, "What do you say we step it up a notch?"

With a glint in her eye Videl suddenly powered up, a white aura erupting around her frame in response, allowing her to prise free of the saiyan's grip. Gohan's eyes widened, as her Ki increased even higher, before she shot into the air, her long ponytail whipping about her in the breeze she created with her power. In a flash, Goku was upon her, their movements faster, more fierce than before. The Satan girl gave a shout, shooting towards her opponent and delivering a powerful uppercut straight to his chin. His father smirked, hit but unharmed as he suddenly phased behind her, punching her straight in the ribs before kicking her away from him.

"That's it!" Videl growled, using her Ki control to stop herself mid-flight, and positively glared at the man across from her, who all but gave her a cheery wink in the air, "You're going to get it Goku."

Gohan frowned, as something in the girl's Ki changed significantly. A flicker of red intertwined with her aura, it confused him at first, until something sparked within his memories just before it happened. Surely she wasn't going to -

"Kiao-ken!" she bellowed, a crimson blaze of energy bursting around her, pulsating with intense concentrated energy.

The light from the Kiao-ken intermingled with the backdrop of the sky, as the sun was slowly beginning to set. He could see her muscles bulging with power underneath her skin, her hair and eyes appearing darker as the red aura cast shadows over her skin.

In a burst of crimson light, Videl propelled herself towards his awaiting father. Though the girl moved quickly, Goku was one step ahead, her outstretched fist connecting with the man's arms as he blocked the attack. A sonic boom echoed over the forest, blowing back the trees momentarily from the impact. Gohan gulped loudly, as his mother and brother's cheers rang in his ears, unable to stop himself from admiring the girl, and not just her fighting technique.

 _"Wowee!"_ Z wolf-whistled from where he was concealed, causing the teen to break out of his trance, " _That was super hot! What a woman! Now, if only she could bring that blonde friend of hers whose name is a number, find a mud pit, buy some itty bitty bikinis' and -"_

"Do you have to be such a perve?!" The young Destroyer hissed, "It's disgusting!"

" _Tch, says the one ogling the girl like a kid in a sweet shop."_

"I am not!"

 _"You're drooling!"_ the relic cackled, as Gohan hurriedly wiped said drool from his mouth in embarrassment.

"That's it, I'm banishing you for a while until you've learned how to behave!" he snarled, willing the sword away to his safe place.

 _"Well you'll be waiting a long time. Hey, wait -!"_ Z cried, but the following silence told the teen that he was already gone.

"Nice control," Goku observed, a hint of pride evident in his eyes, though he was smirking all the same.

"So you keep saying," Videl replied, still gritting her teeth as the power of the Kiao-ken coursed through her, "But I have yet to push you into going super saiyan."

"One day Videl, you've got a lot of potential," the man retorted with a smile, and Gohan couldn't help but silently agree, "Like I said earlier out in the desert, you've come a long way in just short of a year."

"And I aim to go even _further_!" she bellowed, pulling her first away and smashing through Goku's guard, surprisingly pushing the man back on his heels as she aimed a ferocious series of kicks and punches to his upper body.

His father blocked each attack, crouching to his knees in order to aim a jab at the girl's stomach. Videl parried the punch, and with her crimson aura blazing she spun fluidly in the air to create a distance between them. Goku caught on quickly, flipping backwards before the pair of them used their Ki to propel themselves back towards the other with all the speed and agility of a sparrow.

They met in midair, trading blows immediately. Their speed increased, knuckles brushing together, and Gohan could see Videl bit her lip in concentration as she fought. His father span, a sharp kick awaiting the girl's head which she managed to quickly dodge, the bangs of her hair flying upwards as she swopped underneath his leg. Though Goku didn't let her get away that easily, dropping in the air before continuing with a barrage of punches, pushing her back.

"Come on Videl!" his mother called frantically, "Find an opening!"

At her words, Videl's eyes hardened, grasping her mentor by the elbow and pulling him closer, bringing up her knee and embedding it into his gut.

"Yeah!" Goten and Chi-Chi cheered, and Gohan too found himself cheering along with them, not quite believing that this girl had managed to land a good hit on his _father_.

Though Goku recovered instantly, using Videl's knee for momentum as he spun to the side, a well aimed kick suddenly catching her off guard as it came crashing into her ribs. Videl coughed, spitting out a was of saliva as the Kiao-ken was forcibly knocked out of her, the red aura snuffed out in an instant. The teenager's heart sank for a split second, until he saw the headstrong girl growl, her eyes focused as she flung herself towards her opponent once more.

Though her following punch hit nothing but air, as Goku swiftly phased out, appearing above the girl before his boot connected with her jaw. Videl's head jolted from the force, though she soon regained her composure, and the saiyan's cheekbone suddenly met her outstretched fist. She phased out, as Goku laughed heartily, his elbow missing her nose by a millisecond.

Videl suddenly reappeared, aiming to knock his father out of the sky with a hammer fist to the skull, though unfortunately for her, her hands were caught by her mentor, who gave her a wry smile.

"I think that's enough for today, don't you?" he grinned, "Don't overwork yourself!"

The girl panted, her cheeks flustered and her forehead laden with sweat, whereas her mentor looked completely at ease, "But I - "

"Videl, what kind of mentor would I be if I let you continue to the point of breaking your body?" Goku quirked wisely, as she tried to protest, "You're _so close_ to mastering the Kaio-ken, but you can't push yourself too far or else you'll injure your body beyond repair. The Kiao-ken takes a huge toll on anyone, even me. You know, in order to get stronger rest is - ."

"Just as important as training," she finished for him, a satisfied yet tired smile gracing her features, "Thanks Goku."

"Anytime!" the man chuckled, "now go and get some lemonade, I think you've deserved it."

Videl scoffed playfully, "I think I deserve more than that after landing a hit on you!"

He winked, ruffling her hair in a playful manner before calling out to the ground, "Alright Goten, you're up!"

"Yes!" The boy grinned madly, jumping from his place as Videl landed before them, "That was _amazing_ Videl! I wish Dad would show me the Kiao-ken! But he says I'm too young!"

"Oi I've got to have something that you don't have in my arsenal," she grinned back, "or else our fights wouldn't be interesting now would they?"

"I suppose," Goten sighed, as the girl held out a fist towards him.

"Good luck out there."

"Thanks!" He grinned, fist-bumping her before they moved their hands in a series of quick, complex movements, snapping their fingers before turning and bumping the side of their hip against each other. Though Goten had to jump to meet Videl for the last move of the secret handshake.

A strange feeling swirled within Gohan as he watched them perform the move, though he didn't have chance to ponder it any further as Videl plonked herself next to him, her own cold glass of lemonade in hand as she wiped her sweaty face with a towel.

"So, what did you think?" she asked, flashing him a dazzling smile.

He liked seeing her like this, with her tired eyes full of excitement and her chest heaving from the thrill of the fight. Watching her carefully as a bead of sweat dripped down her collarbone, the realisation that he was most certainly attracted to her hit him like a tone of bricks. She was practically beaming, buzzing with satisfaction as she looked towards him, unknowing of the battalion of butterflies that were currently attacking his stomach.

"It was great," he managed to reply when he was able to kick his brain into gear, " _You_ were great even, it's clear that you're a competent fighter."

He couldn't tell if she was blushing or that her face was still flushed from fighting, "Thanks, that means a lot coming from you, wonder boy."

Gohan scowled, "Stop teasing, would you?"

"Never," she winked, taking a sip of her lemonade and scratching Bee behind the ear, "It's way too fun."

The young saiyan opened his mouth to retort, when a blinding golden glow caught him off guard. His eyes widened, as the familiar hot waves of his father's super saiyan transformation assaulted his senses. Unsurprisingly, his father's ascended state was _way_ stronger than he had remembered, though he knew that he wouldn't dream of using the other levels on Goten just yet, especially if his first level was so powerful. Though for some reason, his father's energy felt different, a little dare he say _darker_ than before, he had never felt such a presence emanating from the man before apart from maybe when he first transformed into a super saiyan against Frieza. It was only a flicker, a hint of something that ran deeper than before, but it was there all the same.

"Never gets old," Videl laughed, her sapphire orbs lighting up at the sight of his father shining like a new sun in the middle of the air.

"Ready Goten?" Goku shouted from above.

His youngest son nodded, his jaw tightening as Gohan could have sworn that his obsidian orbs just flashed emerald.

What the hell?

Though the teenager's question was soon answered, in the form of Goten's golden aura springing to life. His black hair spiked upwards, much resembling their father's before it flashed gold, and his now green eyes sparked with determination. The ground shook momentarily from the force of the young boy's transformation, an abrupt shout escaping his chest as his Ki stabilised and he kicked off the ground to meet his father in a fierce onslaught.

Gohan's mouth fell open. His little brother was a super saiyan.

"What the - ?!" he cried, in awe as he watched the two super saiyan's clash across the sky, "G-Goten, he's a -!"

"He turned super saiyan in the battle with Majin Buu," Videl informed him, she seemed rather proud, "Him and Trunks both. They may be a couple of daft kids but they certainly have a lot of power."

He could hardly believe his ears. He had thought that he had been the youngest super saiyan ever at ten years old, which was an amazing feat in itself. Practically impossible to achieve according to Vegeta at the time. Yet Goten and Trunks had achieved the legendary form when they were seven and eight years old?! The thought was crazy, yet he supposed that the battle with Majin Buu must have been an epic one, terrible at that, to push two little boys over the edge. The rage and pain of loss had to be great in order to achieve it, though they must have had a significant amount of power behind them anyway to even be able to entertain transforming so young.

"How did - ?" he started, though he was slightly afraid of the answer, the sound of Goku and Goten's clashing fists masking their conversation.

"I'll explain later," she told him, a murmur of trepidation in her tone.

He was confused, and opened his mouth to press her further when two cries echoed from above. The teenager looked up towards the steadily darkening sky, streaked with amber and violet as his father and brother danced about each other, their golden energies clashing every so often when suddenly -

"KAMEHAMEHAAAA!"

A brilliant blue hue ignited above them, casting shadows over the clean cut grass. He could just make out his father and brother floating across from each other, locked in a beam struggle. Though judging by the amount of power they were emitting, it wasn't enough to do any significant damage as long as they kept themselves high above the trees. Goten was sweating, his spikey blonde hair wavering in the powerful gust of wind the two saiyans were creating. His teeth gritted as he struggled against his father, his emerald eyes hardened like steal. Goku on the other hand, was breathless yet calm, his own Kamehameha Wave slowly overpowering his son's.

"No! No fair!" Goten cried, as in a flash it was over.

Goku's beam stretched towards him in one final burst, causing the air around them to explode. The youngster's hair turned back to black as he reverted back to his base form, exhausted and coughing as the smoke from the aftermath filtered around him.

"Not bad son! But you've got to concentrate more!" Goku called cheerfully, letting go of his own transformation and floating towards the young boy.

"One of these days the shoe's going to be on the other foot Dad!" he scowled playfully as the man pulled him into a headlock and ruffled his hair.

"Yeah, yeah, and I'll be waiting," he smiled, the smouldering pair touching down on the grass.

"Oh dear it looks as though I'm going to have to get the sewing kit out again," Chi-Chi sighed with a roll of her eyes, as she caught sight of the boy's tattered blue and orange gi, "Goku, why do you have to be so rough?"

"Aw he's fine Chi," Goku grinned, "You worry too much."

"Yeah Mum, I'm fine see!" the child smiled toothily, before squawking in protest as the woman grabbed his face and began to rub the dirt off his cheek with a handkerchief from her pocket.

"You're filthy is what you are young man!" she griped, licking the fabric and rubbing the dirt more vigorously, "You're going to have to have a bath before bed!"

"Ew Mum! Cooties!" Goten yelped, the rest of occupants of the garden snorting with laughter. Even Gohan found himself laughing along at his brother's predicament.

"You can't get cooties from your own mother Goten," chuckled Goku, as the boy had no choice but to stand there helplessly in despair.

"Well, I still don't want Mummy spit on my face," he huffed, only causing the teenager's to laugh harder.

"Oh hush," Chi-Chi scolded, though she was smiling all the same.

"So Beerus, fancy a quick spar?" asked Goku suddenly, jolting the young saiyan out of his amusement.

"Oh er, no sorry I think I'm good here," he mustered weakly, tapping the blanket beside him, "Like I said before, I don't really think I'm in your league."

His father looked disappointed, as Videl turned to look at him with a curious expression, as if to say _Just how strong have you become?_ He quickly put a finger to his lips in a secretive gesture that said _Keep it a secret and I'll tell you later_.

"Aw but - " Goku began to protest, when his mother cut across him.

"Oh leave him be Goku," frowned Chi-Chi, "Not everybody wants to spend their summer evenings beating the living daylights out of each other. Besides, Beerus seems like an intelligent young man, he probably isn't even interested in sparring."

His father paused, before a smirk spread across his lips, "Well, what about you?"

"Goku," she warned, "I don't think -."

"Yeah Mum! Why don't you and Dad spar?" Goten piped up in excitement, though Gohan couldn't help but think that it was more due to the fact of trying to get his mother's spit hanky away from him.

"Come on Chi-Chi!" Videl called next to him, much to his surprise, "It's been a while since I saw you fight! Win one for the girls!"

Astonishingly, his mother looked a little torn, "Well, I don't know…there's still the dishes to do…"

"Videl and Beerus are on dish duty!" Goku pointed out, presenting a hand for her to take, "Just relax and think of it as exercise. Unless you're too scared that is and worried that you can't beat your own husband."

Chi-Chi raised an eyebrow. Challenge accepted.

The saiyan's smirk widened even further, as the headstrong woman knocked his hand out of the way and slipped into her own signature fighting stance. It was only now did Gohan realise that his brother's fighting style was a mixture of both of his parents, which was a very strange notion to think of, and accept. His mother had never trained him, and similarly he hadn't seen her spar with his father since before Raditz came to Earth. She had become eons stricter with him and apparently herself since then.

"I'll have you know _Son Goku_ ," his mother growled, a fire ignited in her onyx eyes, "That as the former princess of the Ox-Kingdom, I'm not afraid of anything."

 **BAM!**

Gohan's eyes widened to the size of saucers, as his mother's leg flew through the air a lot faster than he was expecting and _almost_ made contact. His father managing to block her foot at just the last second before it collided with his head.

"Oh, so your serious eh?" Goku grinned, dodging out of the way as the woman unleashed a flurry of vicious punches and knife hands, each one aiming for a very precise and painful hit.

The young saiyan watched as his parents continued to spar, and the mini crowd that was Goten, Videl and Bee went wild - especially when Goku tried to swipe Chi-Chi's legs from underneath her and she all but backflipped out of the way. The way they were acting, so happy and carefree - a _family_ , it was filling his chest with an influx of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. Mainly because he was no longer apart of it.

It didn't take much longer for the teen to slip away from the group, and back into the house away from it all. He found himself in the kitchen, running the tap and splashing his face with cold water in an attempt to stop his eyes from burning with emotion. Gohan sighed, his fingers clutching the side of the sink. Feeling so conflicted about what to do. What the hell was he even doing here? He should be out searching for the dragonballs, training or doing something _useful_ at least, not sitting playing happy families and sipping lemonade as if he was on some sort of holiday from his Destroyer training! Perses could be just around the corner for all he knew!

The laughter from outside carried through the kitchen window, his mother and father's silhouette's dancing around the garden as twilight was now upon them. The kitchen was dark and cool, and Gohan was hoping that he could relish in the solitude for a moment, when he felt a presence behind him. Though in all honesty, he would rather it be her than anyone else right now.

"Gohan?" Videl whispered, turning on the light and engulfing them both in a soft yellow glow, "Are you alright?"

He sighed, turning to face her concerned sapphire eyes, "I don't really know. This is…it's just too much."

She paused, silent as he cast his gaze out of the kitchen window once more, catching the longing in his eyes.

"I'm sorry if I was putting too much pressure on you," she said sincerely, "But I just wanted you see for yourself that they're okay instead of hearing it from Piccolo. I can tell you're worried about them."

He turned towards her suddenly, "You can?"

"I want to be a detective when I'm a big girl, so I have to be good at this sort of thing," Videl smiled, a small chuckle escaping her lips, "And besides, you're not too good at hiding your emotions."

"Yeah, that's pretty much what my friends say about me," he said glumly, folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the counter.

"The ones you fight with?" she asked with interest.

"Yeah, them," Gohan replied with a smile. He had told her a little about his adventures over the past eight years last night, namely because Ms. Detective Satan wouldn't stop pestering him until he did, though he had still refrained from telling her that he was a Destroyer. The way he looked at it, it would complicate things too much. And at this point it wasn't really worth it.

"They all look so happy," he sighed again, as his father's yelp came from the window and his mother's silhouette tackled his to the ground. Goten's and Bee's soon joined them. The laughter reaching his ears was infectious, but each chortle that escaped them felt like a knife to his heart.

"They are," Videl stated, still eyeing him.

"It's all I wanted Videl," he breathed, running a hand through his hair, "It's what I _died_ for. But why does it - why does it hurt so much?"

She looked at him sadly, "Gohan, I -."

"Trust me, I don't _want_ to feel this way," he continued to ramble, hardly taking notice of the fact that she had moved closer towards him, "and I know it's selfish of me to think of - I mean, they didn't even _recognise_ me Videl, do you have any idea how that feels?! Their own son! I know I've changed a lot but I thought… I don't know what I thought. They've kept my bedroom yes, kept it the same and I know they're sad that I died and think of me but they've changed so much. Great Zalama, they even had another _kid_ so soon after I -!"

" _Gohan_ ," Videl interrupted quite forcibly, placing a hand over his where it was clutching desperately onto the counter, as if he was afraid if he were to let go he would fall into the abyss. At her touch, he immediately became quiet, "Do you want to know how Goten become a super saiyan?"

"W-what?" He spluttered, "What does that have anything to do with -?"

"It might open your eyes a little," she said pointedly, driving him to silence once again, "Now, I won't lie to you Gohan, facing Majin Buu was the most terrifying experience I have ever gone through. Almost everyone died, including me and your mum."

His eyes widened in horror, "W-what?"

"The dragonballs brought us back pretty swiftly, don't worry," said Videl, though he couldn't help but notice the dark look in her eyes as she moved the subject along, "There was a glory hogging wizard named Babidi who unleashed that monster upon the Earth, but he had to gather a large amount of life energy in order to do so. Naturally, the quickest was to send some of his minions to The World Martial Arts Tournament to pick off the world's strongest fighters. Obviously, the strongest energy there was your dad's, so they attacked him and drained pretty much all of his energy to take it back to Babidi."

"They managed to beat my dad?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"Not entirely," she replied with a shake of her head, "Little did we know that The Supreme Kai had a hand to play. Training with the Gods, I presume you know him and Kibito right?"

He nodded, prompting the girl to continue, "Well, The Supreme Kai paralysed Goku in the middle of the ring and let Babidi's minions drain his energy so that he could follow them back to Babidi's ship. Risky, I know, but it worked."

Gohan winced, it was a rash decision on the Kai's part. It wasn't exactly prohibited to involve mortals in the Gods' affairs when the universe was at stake, though it wasn't necessarily common. In any case, he supposed that the God of Creation had a good reason for doing so. As a Junior Destroyer, the teen wasn't within his rights to question those above him, even if said God was a little afraid of him.

"Anyway, Majin Buu was so powerful that even your dad's energy wasn't enough to awaken him," Videl continued, "Goku and the rest of the fighters went with The Supreme Kai to face Babidi and his minions after he had recovered, but that conniving little bastard used this to his advantage and cast some kind of weird spell on your dad, making him turn against the others. He would have killed them it if weren't for Piccolo and Vegeta managing to finally take him out."

The young saiyan couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Are you serious?! How did he even manage to make my dad of all people attack everyone else?"

"Babidi's power draws on a persons inner most feelings, he latched onto all the sadness and regret that Goku had in his heart, warped it and turned him evil," she said carefully, studying his reaction, "It was Goten who managed to knock him off guard, as Goku knocked Vegeta away and turned on Trunks. Goten turned super saiyan, though it wasn't enough - obviously, and Goten's beat down ended up with Trunks making the transformation too. It was a big fight, and it took everyone's efforts to defeat this Majin version of Goku. But Babidi's plan had still worked, Goku had become a catalyst for extracting life energy and all the hits he had gotten in on the others had already fuelled Majin Buu's release."

"That's mental," he mustered, reeling from shock at the revelation. He couldn't even imagine what that battle must have been like, and Goten… having to fight his own father and stop him from murdering his best friend? He wished he had been there, all of it could have been avoided if he had known about Majin Buu sooner. Still, his brother didn't seem that affected by it, quite obviously happy from what he had seen so far. Yet his father… there was definitely something off about his Ki when he used the super saiyan form.

"Your dad was devastated when he learned what he had done," said Videl, breaking him out of his thoughts, "but he was pissed off beyond belief that Babidi had gotten into his mind like that and bloody _hell_ did he make him pay."

"I don't get it," said Gohan, frowning deeply, "Surely Vegeta would have been an easier choice for Babidi to manipulate? He's not evil any more but he's got a pretty big temper on him, not to mention his ego of pride. I don't think my dad would have any re-."

He stopped short. Oh dear. Did he really…? Did his father really blame _himself_ for his death?! If anything, it should have been the other way around in his opinion. Gohan was the one who had failed to kill Cell when he should have, his father had to sacrifice himself for his mistake after all. Then Gohan had died giving everything he had against Cell, and it was his _choice_ , because he refused to let any one else die in his place!

So that explained the dark presence then, though it was unclear whether Babidi had made it worse at this point. It wasn't necessarily evil, but it was as though something extremely negative was eating away at him, affecting his very soul.

"Poor Dad," he sighed, as Videl was watching him, giving him a sad but knowing smile.

"Yeah," she replied glumly, "I'm sorry to have to tell you that, but I think it's only fair that you know what he went through. Your mum too. It certainly hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows. It's been hard for them too, some days more than others. Even after eight years."

"No, thanks Videl," the halfling replied, his mind still whirring with thoughts of his parents, "Thanks for telling me. I-I needed to hear it. I just wish I had been there to help."

"Don't mention it," the girl smiled back, leaning into him in a comforting manner, "We all managed to pull together and defeat Majin Buu in the end. And everyone is stronger for it."

He couldn't help but wonder if that really was true for his father. He didn't want the man to have any regrets, and as such he felt increasingly guilty because of it. Gohan felt as though he needed to make it up to him, to explain to him that he was _fine_ and that his death against Cell wasn't his fault. But he wasn't sure how to do it without the man finding out who he was. Was it worse to allow his father to believe that his eldest son was lost forever, or let him live with the knowledge that said son was a Destroyer?

A sudden cough came from the doorway, and heat flew to his cheeks as he realised that Videl's hand was not only still holding his, but he had unconsciously entwined their fingers together. He jolted away from her as though he had been burned, his eyes settling on his parents who were giving them both wolfish grins from the hall.

"Everything okay in here?" Goku asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

Videl cleared her throat awkwardly, "Just fine, we were going to get a head start on the dishes."

"Well alright, we're just going to pop the telly on," Chi-Chi practically sang, looking a little flustered and windswept from sparring her saiyan husband, "Give us a shout if you need anything."

"Will do," Gohan smiled innocently back, "Thanks."

The couple gave them one last look before walking down the hallway towards the living room, where they could hear Bee playfully barking at them. Averting their eyes from one another, the two teenagers swiftly moved to separate sides of the kitchen to begin cleaning up the mountain of dishes that lay in the aftermath of a meal between two humans and three saiyans. Though their avoidance of their obvious embarrassment was futile, as they heard Goten's voice carry from the hallway.

"Mum, Dad, we're they going to do kissy kissy stuff?"

* * *

 _3rd January, 2019_

* * *

 _A/N: Not going to lie, some parts of this chapter BROKE MY FREAKIN HEART to write. Goten not really bothered about the brother he never met? sob sob. I'm curious as to what you all think of a Majin Goku?_

* * *

 **Reviews:**

animeflunky: thank you so much for your review, glad you enjoyed the feels in the last chapter!

Aaron Leach: thank you!

ashlovesdbz: thank you! I wasnt sure how I was going to reveal him to Videl at first, and was originally going to have him blurt out everything to Videl because lets face it Gohan is a bit of a sap when it comes to Videl. However, I thought that this was much funnier and different! So glad you liked it! Teen Gohan is my fave Gohan too. Really enjoyed writing him at the start of this fic!

Guest : glad you enjoyed the reveal to Videl! Though I can't seem to find where the paragraphs are repeated like you said?

hiareportsyou : sorry but this is a Gohan and Videl fic, as stated in the description! Not really sure what you mean about the slave thing... 0.0

romanovascap : Gohan may be a quick thinker but sometimes he is rubbish at it! Especially around Videl. Those eyes... aww.

MadmanJrs : really glad you enjoyed it! I really loved the end of that chapter. Hope you have enjoyed this one too!

DaDragon562 : Gohan has indeed lowered his Ki for the party so he did take some precautions there. Youre right in the fact that he is a bit careless, but he is a little overwhelmed right now seeing his family and friends etc which has made him scatterbrained which I thought would attribute to the comedy of the story. e.g hes meant to be this tough destroyer but he is a bit of an awkward teen like we see in dragonball. im still trying to keep elements of the original gohan whilst changing parts that would make him grow in the plot. Also I had thought about him getting caught out by Bulma, hence the blowing things up and joke about Cell in this chapter. I did it for the lolz.

RayQ Cina: wow that really mean so SO much to hear someone say that! Thank you friend! To be honest, I had no idea why no one had thought of it either! make gohan great again!

TheRangerBoy : I can't wait either!

Chrisfragger : thank you!

Knightwing20042 : glad I've got you hooked! Actually, the namekian dragonballs were mentioned by Gohan as an option instead of going to earth to Beerus. but Beerus determined that the balls were far too sacred for that purpose (mainly cuz he's an ass lol)

joepaul6: he still freaked out, and the opportunity is still there for bulma to find out ;)

thepurplebear: thank you so much for your review! really glad you enjoyed the chapter so much! haha of course I just HAD to get yamcha getting a dig in at Vegeta for once. poor bloke gets too much shit! It has certainly been a busy year, but hopefully itll start to wind down!

TheHiddenLettuce: haha it could have been 18!

Kirbylover99: haha! thank you so much! I LOVE how emotive everyone is getting over this story. And I really cannot wait when it all goes to shit either, that is the best bit of any story!

x2leoj : thanks!

FireEmblemMaster101: haha love it! I miss Guru.

dspendragon125 : thank you! your love is appreciated!

Dan2018: thank you! I hope I didnt dissappoint!

Lightningblade49 : thank you!

eliteshadow: thanks so much!

Super Triborg: there will certainly be more Gohan and Goten moments!

HKGlenstid : thank you, thats the first time someones mentioned about my writing improving! wow! it means a lot. I do feel as though my writing still is getting better! cheers!

zerosama.754083: aw thanks! hope you liked this one!

I'mAAnimeMaster : glad you liked the element of surprise!

X3runner: thanks for your review. yes I think vegeta and piccolo would cover for him. but if it goes to shit vegeta wouldn't care as much as piccolo and would therefore find it hilarious!

Guest: never thought of a beerus taking Gohan's body theory! interesting!

WiffleDick678: more is here!

Iwik: glad I got you laughing. Gohan and Videl will certainly progress further. I cannot wait for it! aaaand the lab thing is pretty much solved and Gohan spends time with his dad! yay!

Shobu556 : I missed a trick there!

LilRocboogie: so glad you like Gohan's persona nowadays, its good to know that people understand why there is a difference in this Gohan to the original. thanks for reviewing!

Star1X: mayyyyyybe

EvsVsz : british vibes all around, its what i do! and glad you like the OCs!

N.O : thank you!

RedDragonforce 1 : loved it so much I had to put it in the opening!

darkprincess: cant reveal too much, sorry! but expect more gohan and goten bonding, but maybe not in the way you expect xD

ImmortalGodd: glad you are enjoying the story. but I have tried to remain the characters as they are but there will be some differences due to the circumstances they have been taken through. I will continue to write the characters using british terms because i find that it helps my writing to if its off putting for some but it is my writing style.

ebradl2 : haha eventually all will be revealed

Exiled Soul Nomad : aw you knew!

FeathersofMemory: am super glad you enjoyed that chapter so much, found it funny and emotional, it was exactly what i wanted to get across! good to know im doing a good job somewhere!

Xxxsal: thank you!

LEO LOVER 2016 : xD

johndoe86 : she totally is used to it, just not long lost world saviours popping up out of no where, thats a new one for her ;)

Erin : thank you! happy new year to you too, glad you enjoyed it!

Thomas-The-TMC: thanks! so happy so many of you liked the reveal!

RMFhJhbsjsk: thank you so much! :)


	16. Ultra Instinct

_A/N: Hello all! Hope 2019 has been treating you well so far! As always thank you so much for your continued love and support. I cannot believe that this story is at **1000** followers! :O :O :O! How crazy is that?! I am super excited for this story and have been working very hard on it recently. This chapter in particular is a whopping 28 pages long and just over 16,000 words! phew, its a beast but I do hope that you'll enjoy the outcome of this chapter as we move forward into the nitty gritty of the story. Goodness I can't wait! I am super excited and have every intention of finishing this story and I will get there one way or another. The ending is already mapped out ;) Thank you so much for your feedback, I always look forward to reading it. I apologise for some spelling/grammar mistakes last chapter, I'm not quite sure what happened there! Fingers crossed there wont be any in this chapter :P_

 _I'm glad that people liked and also got the concept of a Majin Goku in the last chapter! I may do a bonus chapter for the lost Buu Saga at the end of this story if I have the time. It would be something fun and different to write. But we will see as my focus is on completing the story first!_

 _As always, Enjoy! ES x_

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 **And another summary of the last chapter by a lovely reviewer RedDragonforce1!**

 _(Narrator's voice): Last Time, Gohan managed to calm Videl down without drawing outside attention, but in return got blackmailed into spending time with his family as she trains with them. (Videl's Voice: "It's just a couple of days.") Amongst the nostalgic surroundings, Gohan learned a horrible truth: Goku was mind controlled into being Evil. Thanks to the combined efforts of Vegeta, Piccolo, and newcomers Goten and Trunks, who became Super Saiyans in the process, Majin Goku was stopped before it was too late. Can our Junior Destroyer keep the pretense of "Beerus" up, or will his Family's presence break his resolve? Find out Next on Son Gohan The Destroyer!_

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen**

 **Ultra Instinct**

 **xxxx**

When Gohan woke up the next morning, it took him a minute or two to remember just where he was. For a moment he thought that he was back at Videl's apartment, judging by how his back had dipped uncomfortably in between the sofa cushions. Though reality soon reared it's ugly head, as the sound of childish giggling reached his ears.

He could feel the presence of the two boys hovering above him as he lay on his back, his head resting on a spare pillow from one of the bedrooms and a fluffy blanket hardly managing to cover his bare chest. The young saiyan had realised that he was now too tall to lie fully on his parents sofa, and as such his legs dangled off the edge, giving Bee the incentive to try and nibble his toes all night. So, sleep deprived and sore, he was thoroughly miffed that he had been woken up prematurely by the terror twins.

It was an appropriate name for the boys in his opinion, especially considering what they were up to. And Gohan confirmed his suspicions as he suddenly snapped open one eye, causing Goten and Trunks to yelp, jumping a mile and almost dropping the odd combination of items they held in their hands in the process.

"What are you doing?" Gohan quirked, opening his other eye and sitting up fully, narrowing his gaze at the pair.

"Nothing," they chorused guiltily, still floating across from him.

"Oh really?" The young saiyan gave them an incredulous stare, eyeing the things that they quickly hid behind their backs. "It doesn't look like nothing."

Goten and Trunks gulped, and Gohan was loving every second of staring the boys out. Using his domineering presence to scare them into submission - classic.

"Were you going to prank me?" he asked again, his voice low and dangerous, causing them to sweat.

"N-no!" Goten squeaked as Trunks began shaking his head vigorously, "We were just going to show you all this cool stuff we found, right Trunks?"

"Right!"

"Oh right," The teenager said sarcastically, "Because I can't wait to see what's so cool about a jar of worms, a can of shaving foam, an airhorn and a watermelon."

Alright so maybe the airhorn was pretty cool, but he wasn't going to tell _them_ that.

"What kind of a prank were you trying to pull with _that_ combination anyway?" he frowned, as the boys flashed him identical, innocent smiles.

Luckily, before Gohan got angry, his mother waltzed into the living room.

"Good morning Beerus, or should I say afternoon? It's already gone eleven," she chuckled, stopping short when she caught sight of Goten and Trunks, "Oh _honestly_ , I turn my back for five minutes! Have you two got nothing better to do than to pester our guest?!"

"Aw but Mum," Goten whined, "Uncle Vegeta just left!"

Chi-Chi rolled her eyes, though before she could scold them any further, did a rather muddy Goku and Videl enter through the hallway, both clutching water bottles and sporting towels around their necks.

"Oh morning Beerus! You're finally up!" his father grinned, "Phew, you like to sleep in late don't you? None of us could wake you up! Not even Videl here and she tried harder than any of us!"

Gohan flushed in embarrassment, pulling the blanket up to his neck to avoid further exposing himself to the occupants of the room. "Er sorry," he mustered, "I didn't mean to sleep in for so long."

"Don't worry about it," the man chuckled, "Videl and I have just had our morning spar and we were about to have second breakfast. Come and join us!"

"What are we doing after second breakfast Dad?" asked Goten, "Ooh can me and Trunks spar with you?"

"I think we've all had enough fighting for now," his mother told him before his father could answer, "Why don't we all go for a walk instead? It's a beautiful day and we could always take a trip to the city to get something nice for dinner."

"Aw but mum - !" "I don't like shopping Aunt Chi-Chi!" the boys whined, though Videl cut across them.

"I think that's a lovely idea Chi-Chi," she smiled, "And I bet that if the boys behave themselves then we could even let them pick dessert."

Their eyes lit up at that, thoughts of a good spar flying out of the window as they nodded their heads enthusiastically.

"Aw but I wanted to pick the dessert," Goku pouted, causing his mother to sigh in an exasperated manner.

"Maybe next time Goku."

"Oh alright."

Gohan caught Videl's eye over the back of the sofa, exchanging an amused smile.

The weather truly was glorious. The sun was high in the sky, warming the pine scented air around them and casting bold shadows upon the ground. Gohan had taken to wearing a simple pair of black skinny jeans and a plain white t-shirt that Piccolo had provided for him, his mother had even found him an old pair of his father's sunglasses to wear, after harping on about sun protection and making the lot of them slather on a ridiculous amount of factor fifty which was thick like buttercream.

Feeling a bit sticky, but not undeterred, the young saiyan quite enjoyed the long walk through the forest path. He listened to the birds sing as his mother, father and Videl chatted about this and that, whilst Goten and Trunks ran ahead of them to see who could spot the tallest tree and climb to the top. Apparently, the purple-haired prince would be staying overnight at the Son's for a sleepover with his best friend, which he had learned from Videl was an almost weekly routine. They had left Bee back at the house, so that the crazy mutt wouldn't run rampant in the city.

"How're you holding up?" Videl asked him in a low voice as she dropped back to where he was walking behind the group.

"Better than yesterday," he admitted, "Though if I'm honest, I'm just trying to get the next couple of days over and done with. I could really do with searching for the dragonballs."

She nodded in understanding, "Maybe we can sneak out later and go on a dragonball hunt whilst everyones in bed?"

He gulped, the thought of sneaking out with Videl in the middle of the night causing his mouth to run dry.

"Are you alright?" the girl quirked, raising an eyebrow at his sudden flustered demeanour.

"Just fine," he replied, forcing a smile, "I was just thinking about where to start looking."

"Well you have the radar," Videl said slowly, her lips twitching in amusement, "We can just use that to find them, you know, like usual…"

"Oh right yeah," the teenager chuckled nervously, "Silly me."

"Oi you two!" Goku called up ahead, where they had come to a stop in the middle of a clearing, "We're going to head to the city now."

"Yeah nature is boring!" Trunks chimed, "We want ice-cream!"

"Ice-cream!" Goten cheered happily, pumping his fists in the air.

Gohan and Videl chuckled, as his mother frowned.

"Well alright, we can go and get some ice-cream," she said curtly, ignoring the boys' cheers, "But we're flying Goku, I'm not having you using your instant transmission to pop into the middle of the street and give some poor old dear a heart attack - _again_."

"Sounds like a plan," Goku smiled, picking up the woman bridal style without warning and causing her to squeal, "I much prefer flying in this weather anyway."

"Goku!" Chi-Chi gasped, smacking him playfully on the chest before turning to the children, "Alright you two, no playing tag in the sky, no stopping for toilet breaks or looking at pretty birds. Make sure you look both ways before landing and you can have your ice-cream as soon as we get there."

"Okay Mum!" said Goten.

"Yeah, we'll be good Aunt Chi-Chi," Trunks beamed.

"Good," the ox-princess nodded before turning to the two teenagers, her eyes widening suddenly in realisation, "Oh dear, what about you Beerus? Hmm, well I suppose someone could carry you - ."

"Oh wait Chi! I have an idea!" said his father, which the young Destroyer was thoroughly grateful for. He did _not_ want to be carried, especially not by Videl or the terror twins. He was sort of wishing that Videl had told them that he knew how to fly at least. Though apparently his father had a better idea.

"Come to me flying Nimbus!"

This was not a good idea.

Gohan cringed, as a few seconds passed before the familiar fluffy yellow cloud streaked across the sky from the horizon. He sighed, this was going to be embarrassing. He knew that only those truly pure of heart could ride the Nimbus cloud, and as such was certain that he wouldn't be able to anymore, what with all the acts he had performed as a Destroyer-in-training. As much as he had tried to avoid it, there had been times when the need had come for him to destroy a planet or to wipe an entire race from existence. He didn't like doing it necessarily, though he did get a feeling of satisfaction when he destroyed monsters and beasts that had reeked havoc across the universe.

Unfortunately, destruction didn't necessarily go hand in hand with purity - he doubted that Lord Beerus would be able to sit on the magic cloud without falling through. And even though Whis had told him many years ago that his heart was pure, he wasn't sure if the same was true anymore. He had done a lot of terrible things by Nimbus' standards.

Though there was something unusual about how the cloud was acting. Instead of skidding to a halt in front of his father's feet, like it always did when it presented itself to the person who called it, it headed straight for Gohan. He couldn't help but laugh, as Nimbus quickly circled around his body happily, almost blowing the others back from the mini tornado it had just caused. The cloud whizzed above his head, before finally coming to rest just above his knees, emitting a low purring sound as it waited patiently for the teen to hop in.

 _You remember me, don't you Nimbus?_ Gohan thought with a smile, fond memories of him riding the magic cloud, racing it and speeding high up amongst the clouds sprang to his mind.

His father blinked at The Flying Nimbus' strange antics before breaking out into a cheery grin, "Wow Beerus, Nimbus must really like you! I've never seen him act like that around a stranger before."

"Heh, is that so?" the young saiyan said nervously, Videl was practically beaming at him.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Goku asked, "Hop on!"

"Goku, are you sure this is a good idea?" Chi-Chi whispered from his arms, "What if -?"

"Don't worry Chi-Chi," the saiyan smiled, "I've got a good feeling about Beerus, he won't fall through."

"Fall through?" Gohan quirked, trying to act dumb as he realised that he was _trying_ to act like a normal person who hadn't seen a magical flying cloud before.

"You can only ride it if you've got a pure heart!" Goten told him, "If not, you'll fall straight through it like Trunks did!"

"Shut up!" The lavender haired prince spat, "That was only _one_ time!"

"Yeah, because you called me a really bad swear word when you were riding it," he teased.

"Well maybe you shouldn't have pissed me off!" he snapped back.

"Haha, the one you said on Nimbus was _much_ worse than that one!"

"Boys!" Chi-Chi cried, giving them a stern look before turning to the teenager in question, "Well come on then Beerus, we haven't got all day."

Gohan sighed, staring begrudgingly at the yellow cloud as it continued to whir in place. Even if he did fall through, he didn't think that they would think any less of him, only a handful of his family and friends could ride it after all and they still respected those who couldn't. Though he wondered what they would think if he fell through and knew the reality of who he really was? The very thought was enough to make him shudder.

Deciding to just get the humiliation over and done with, the halfling gritted his teeth and scrunched up his eyes in preparation. He jumped, landing on Nimbus so that his feet were firmly planted on top of the cloud.

And he stayed.

He was stunned that was a given, opening his eyes in astonishment as his father let out a bark of laughter.

"See I knew it!" Goku beamed, lifting off into the air, "Now that we're all ready, let's go! Last one to the city is a rotten senzu bean!"

"GOKU!" His mother shrieked as they shot through the sky, "This is NOT a race!"

"It is now!" Trunks grinned evilly, his white aura building around him.

"Yeah, I'm gonna win!" laughed Goten, following suit as they both kicked off from the ground at the same time.

Videl all but gave him a wink before she too blasted after them, the tall trees around him blowing backwards from the force.

Gohan smirked devilishly, bending down to whisper to the fluffy cloud that he was now sat upon, "Come on Nimbus, let's see what you're made of nowadays!"

Accepting the challenge, the flying cloud wiggled and whirred before he was thrust into the air, easily speeding past Videl who gaped at him angrily.

"Oh no you don't!" she cried, pushing her Ki forcibly behind her and propelling herself forwards in an attempt to catch him up.

His smirked widened as an idea came to mind after a couple of minutes of racing, catching sight of the specks of his father, brother and Trunks up ahead of him. There was _no way_ he was going to allow himself to loose.

It happened so fast that Videl nearly missed it, as in the blink of an eye did both Gohan and Nimbus wink out of sight. The halfling had thought quickly, teleporting himself and Nimbus away and reappearing just upon the outskirts of Orange Star City, allowing the magic cloud to speedily fly them the rest of the way.

"Woah Beerus, you won!" Goku gaped in shock as he skidded to a halt in front of the teenager who was sat triumphantly atop Nimbus with his arms folded across his chest, hovering high above the city. His mother looked flustered from where she was clutching onto the front of her husbands gi, her hair windswept and falling from her usually tight bun atop her head.

"I didn't know that Nimbus could go _that_ fast!" panted Goten, as Trunks and Videl brought up the rear.

"Yeah, fancy that," the girl griped, shooting Gohan a steely glare.

"Nice going!" his father smiled, before leading the way downwards into an alleyway where they could safely land without being spotted by civilians.

"Looks like you're the rotten senzu bean," Gohan teased as he and Videl landed a little further away from his parents.

"Oh shut up, cheater," she huffed, "I doubt that senzu beans even have a 'use by' date anyway."

He gave her a cheeky smile, as she promptly stuck her tongue out at him.

"How did you do that anyway? Instant transmission?" she asked, curious.

"Well, I can sort of teleport -," he began to explain, but stopped short when Goten bounded up to them.

"What are you two whispering about?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Probably kissy kissy stuff, they look like they're about to suck face," Trunks shrugged next to him, before Videl clocked him on the head with her fist.

"Don't be a smart arse Trunks," she scolded, as he rubbed the sore spot on his skull, "Or else I'll tell Chi-Chi and she won't get you any ice-cream."

"Aright fine," the boy shrugged, pulling Goten away, "But from what I can see, you two are just kidding yourselves."

The teenagers stared after them, before Videl shook her head with an amused smile.

"Psychoanalysed by a nine year old," she chuckled, turning towards the red-faced halfling, "You coming?"

"Yeah," he replied shortly, following them out of the alley. Was he really being _that_ obvious?

To his annoyance, the streets of Orange Star City were packed due to the heat of the summers day and Gohan and his family had to struggle through the influx of people that crowded around the main shopping district. Many couples and families were already out for lunch, sitting under large umbrellas and nursing ice cold drinks. He spotted a large park as they continued to walk, with several ice-cream and burger stands that had lines of people queuing up for their refreshments.

Teenagers, listening to what sounded like rock music, basked in the sun on top of their school blazers whilst several small children raced among them. Their childish laughter reached his ears as they fought for the next turn of the slide or the monkey bars situated in the centre of the dried out grass. Several people were out walking their dogs, and Gohan immediately felt a little sorry for Bee who they had left had home, and made a mental note to himself to take him out for a long walk when they got back. He could even come out on his and Videl's dragonball hunt later.

He was pleased to find that the majority of the streamers and decorations had been taken down from the celebrations the other day. Yet he scowled up at the giant billboard with his face on that still remained for some daft reason. His mother didn't seem too pleased about it either.

"Oh I do wish they'd stop making a spectacle out of my boy," she said aloud, catching sight of it before briskly turning the other way, "Come on, let's go and find an ice-cream parlour. I hear that there's a very nice one on Orin Avenue.

Gohan caught Videl's eye, who all but gave him a sympathetic smile before following his mother.

He sighed, the euphoria of winning the little race earlier dissipating in an instant. He really didn't like that sad look in his mother's eyes, and it had really dampened his mood. Hoping that a spot of ice-cream would cheer him up, the teenager trudged after his family, though hung back a bit to continue observing the sights around him.

He could see a lot of tourists, though he quite honestly didn't see what was so wonderful about visiting a big city. The young saiyan much preferred the countryside, even when he went off to visit other planets. Cities were _so_ boring, not to mention that they always smelled funny what with all the polluted air. The mass of congested vehicles were rife in the majority of cities that he had visited across the galaxies, and the sounds of honking car horns and irate drivers were more than enough to get on his nerves.

The buildings were always so colourless and imposing, blocking out the sun - or suns depending on what planet he was on. It was the same wherever he went. Families on a picnic, children whining for the next best toy, public transport chugging along the streets, queues of people lining up for one reason or another. There was always food stalls, markets, Whis and Lord Beerus sharing a sundae in the sun, someone's pet relieving itself in a prohibited place -

Hang on a tick.

Gohan did a double take, blinking rapidly, his sunglasses sliding down the end of his nose as he could hardly believe his eyes. He choked, for there was no mistaking that his mentor and predecessor were sitting on a bench directly across from him, happily sharing a strawberry sundae as if it was the most normal thing in the world. They hadn't even bothered to _disguise_ themselves for goodness sake! Sitting openly in their divine attire, uncaring that they were receiving several odd looks from passersby.

Catching him staring at them in bewilderment, Whis looked up, giving him a cheery wave.

The teenager face-palmed.

"What the bloody hell are you two doing here?!" He demanded as he approached them, causing the pair to smirk.

"Really now?" scoffed Lord Beerus, licking the cream from his spoon in delight, "Is that any way to speak to your superiors?"

Gohan huffed, folding his arms across his chest angrily, "It's how I speak to the Gods that _abandoned_ me on Earth to search for some crackpot prophecy that nobody has even heard of!"

" _Crackpot_ prophecy?!" The Destroyer God snarled, "Why you little -! Do you have _any_ idea of what's at stake?!"

"Do _you_?" he shot back, "You're sat here eating ice-cream!"

"Yet another thing that utterly infuriates me about this entire situation," said Lord Beerus, his sharp eyes narrowing into slits, "Why didn't you tell us that the food here on Earth was so mouthwateringly delicious?!"

Gohan winced, knowing immediately that he was in trouble, "I sort of… forgot…"

"FORGOT?!" He cried, disintegrating the tiny wooden spoon in his grasp with a small influx of power, "How could you forget about something like that?! Ice-cream, pizza, hotdogs, burgers, fries and _ketchup_ of all things! The surprisingly tangy yet sweet flavour?! It's INGENIOUS!"

"Well I didn't think it was that important!" he protested, "Excuse me if I was trying to _focus_ on my studies and training in order to fill your stinky old boots!"

"Stinky?!" Lord Beerus growled, "I'll tell you what stinks, your damned attitude towards the Divine! It's obvious that you just wanted to keep Earth's delicacies all to yourself!"

"Obviously not, as I had no intention of coming back here!" the young saiyan snapped, "I'm only here because of _your_ stupid premonition. And before you say anything, it was stupid. I mean, what kind of premonition gives you the highlights but skips the details?!"

"You'd better watch that mouth of yours kid," he glowered dangerously, "before I -"

"Alright, that's enough," Whis interjected calmly, standing up between the two and allowing Beerus to gobble up the last of their sundae in a disgruntled manner, "Now Gohan, as I'm sure you've guessed by now, we didn't just stop by to sample the local cuisine. Firstly, how is your research coming along? Not well I'm guessing judging by how you just reacted."

The young saiyan immediately became sheepish, "Well, um. I asked Vegeta about the prophecy but he doesn't know anything about it either. So it looks like I'll have to wait until I can summon the Eternal Dragon in a months time."

"And did you tell Prince Vegeta who you were?" Beerus quirked, licking his lips clean of strawberry syrup.

"Yeah, I sort of had to," he replied with a shrug, "I used the name Beerus as my alias - stupidly, and he was about to fight me to the death for the fate of the planet. I had to tell him or else I could have been discovered by the rest of my family and friends."

The deity let out a bark of laughter, much to his annoyance, "The saiyan prince wanted to fight me, eh? He must still be sore about me making a fool out of his father. _Saiyans_ , such a prideful race."

"Just how many people have you told about your presence here on Earth, Gohan?" asked Whis, as the Destroyer continued to lick the ice-cream bowl clean.

"Well," he began, counting them on his fingers, "There's Vegeta, then Dende who I told because he's the Guardian of Earth. Majin Buu - sort of, because I threatened him. Piccolo, my old mentor who figured it out and then Videl too."

"Videl?" the Angel blinked curiously.

"Yeah, you know the girl that first took me in after I landed here?" he informed them, attempting to keep his tone indifferent, "She's my dad's student. I also kind of saved her life back when I was fighting Cell."

"Hm, I see," said Whis, his eyes lingering on him for a moment before he continued, "Well despite your failures so far, at least we have somewhat of a plan."

"Oi! I managed to get hold of the dragon radar so I can get a head start with finding the dragonballs you know!" he fumed in offense, causing his mentor to chuckle.

"What do you want, a medal?" Lord Beerus snorted, "And just how many of these dragonballs have you managed to find so far?"

"Well, um… none," Gohan muttered quietly, averting his eyes.

"You're slacking boy!" the deity berated him angrily, "Just what in Zalama's name has gotten into you?"

"Nothing! I've just been busy!" he defended hotly, as Beerus scoffed.

"Busy lounging around this mud ball and not doing your job," he stated, "I can already feel you getting weaker, it's been days since you trained."

"Well duh, I can't exactly train here without anyone noticing," the teenager replied haughtily.

"Well then, I think that our visit has come at an opportune moment," Whis interjected once more, smiling at them both, "I think a spot of training wouldn't go amiss. We can spar after I have briefed you Gohan, we have much to discuss in regards to our threat, though as I'm sure you're aware that it cannot be discussed here. This is a very private matter."

Gohan inwardly groaned. Great, how was he going to explain his sudden disappearance to his family? He couldn't just _not_ leave, there were more important matters at hand.

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Whis smiled, causing the teenager to scowl.

"Will you stop reading my mind without my consent? It's creepy!"

His mentor chuckled, "If I didn't then I wouldn't know that you have been eyeing up that quadruple chocolate 'gut-buster' sundae from the moment you got here, now would I?"

The young Destroyer's frown deepened, casting his gaze over to the ice-cream stand behind them before turning his head away in defiance. "If you're trying to bribe me as an apology for stranding me here then it's not going to work. I don't even want an ice-cream."

There was a pause, as both Beerus and Whis gave him a pointed look.

"Oh alright it's totally working," he grinned, accepting defeat quite readily as he looked up at the blue-skinned deity, "But can I get sprinkles?"

"Sprinkles?" Lord Beerus' ears twitched, "What are sprinkles?"

"Ah," Whis informed him wisely, "I believe it's what the Malikahs on Planet Malika call their -"

"It's not anything like that!" Gohan cut across him with a horrified expression, " _Ew_! No on Earth sprinkles are basically sugar mixed with syrup and flavours and colourings and … I don't know what else but they taste good and they're rainbow coloured!"

"Sugar you say?" the God of Destruction pondered, "Sounds… tantalising. Whis! I'll have what he's having and make sure you get me _extra_ sprinkles for I am far superior to this brat!"

"Yeah I'm sure that the ice-cream vender is going to terrified of your all encompassing might what with all your extra sprinkles," the teen saiyan muttered sarcastically.

"Be quiet brat!" Beerus snapped, before turning towards the chuckling Angel, "Hurry up Whis, we haven't got all day."

"Very well," Whis sighed, "Don't blame me if you get brain freeze. Though you might need something cold to sooth that sick burn."

To the God's annoyance, Gohan and Whis high-fived.

"Wait Whis," the teen saiyan asked, "How did you even get the money for all this anyway?"

"Oh I don't need it," the Angel cooed, grinning widely as he waved towards the ice-cream cart, "The vender has found my interest in cold confectionary rather charming."

 _Yeah, and Lord Beerus probably scared the life out of him,_ he thought, as his mentor called back.

"Probably!"

"Oi! Stop reading my mind!"

The journey back to Lord Beerus' planet went rather quickly by all accounts, though Gohan attributed it to the amount of time he had spent laughing at said God for falling victim to the brain freeze that Whis had all but warned him about minutes earlier.

As The Warp landed at the foot of the giant, ancient tree the teenager let out an enormous belch, feeling rather satisfied, what with his belly full and his mouth harbouring a cool tingle from all the chocolate ice-cream he had just inhaled. It was good to be back, he thought, breathing in the familiar air that he had long grown accustomed to. He had certainly missed this place over the last few days, and was even considering whether he had the time to catch a quick nap in his comfortable bed when his mentor addressed him.

"Gohan please," Whis tutted, stepping forwards with a disapproving stare, "Do mind your manners."

"Whoops, sorry," he grinned sheepishly, throwing a hand to his hair.

"And speaking of manners," he said pointedly, before a silvery light encompassed his frame and he soon found that his jeans and t-shirt had been replaced by his regular Destroyer uniform, the ceremonial blue garb fluttering in the breeze as the halo reappeared above his head.

"Why did you do that?" Gohan asked, "You're only going to have to change me back later."

"This is a sacred place my boy, and at least _some_ rules need to be abided by," the Angel stated, "I want our Junior Destroyer dressed appropriately at all times in the realm of Gods. You never know who might pop in!"

"Well alright," he shrugged, "But I'm just pointing out the fact that we haven't had a visitor in the eight years that I've been living here, and I don't count The Supreme Guard."

"Things may be subject to change, we have to be prepared for anything," said Whis, rather seriously, motioning the young man to sit.

He did as he was instructed, sitting cross-legged beside Lord Beerus who held his head in his hands in a vain attempt to curb his ice-cream headache. The Angel's eyes bore into his, the amber sky hanging above them almost ominously.

Gohan gasped suddenly, "Don't tell me that Perses has managed to escape already?!"

"Ugh, stop breathing so loud," Beerus mumbled in pain, as Whis let out a small chuckle.

"Oh dear no," he informed him, much to his relief, "Perses has not managed to break out of his prison within The Void, though I have to say that it could be only a matter of time."

"How long?" he asked boldly, clenching his fists as if the ex-Destroyer-in-training was about to pop up out of the ground at any second.

"That, we are unsure of at this time," Whis said carefully, "But what we do know is that he is still gaining power at a rapid rate. I daresay you should be able to feel the ripple of darkness spreading across the universe by now."

The halfling frowned, before closing his eyes and concentrating on his divine senses. He nearly toppled over, as said senses were assaulted by the most crippling amount of evil energy he had ever felt in his entire existence. It felt warped, corrupted, and it was so cold that he thought that if he focussed on it for any longer that it might just freeze his insides solid. It worried him greatly, as less than a week ago he hadn't been able to sense anything! And now...

His eyes snapped open, as he looked towards Whis with a horrorstricken expression, "What the bleeding hell _is_ that?!"

" _That_ , my boy, is Perses," his mentor stated, a dark look in his eyes, "And do mind your language."

"S-sorry," Gohan apologised quickly, "But that power, it's so _corrupt_. I've never felt anything like it! I can't believe that all that power is Perses."

"Pah," Lord Beerus spat from beside him, still looking rather weary, "That's nothing. Perses is capable of far more than that, this is just the beginning."

The teenager started at him, dumfounded. Surely they couldn't be serious?!

"The strength that our former disciple is capable of isn't the point," Whis cut across them, "The point is where or rather _who_ the source is that is helping him regain that power. Every lead that The Supreme Guard has chased has come up short. Therefore, we think that it may be someone of a divine nature behind this."

"Divine nature?" Gohan frowned, "You mean a God?"

"Yes," the Destroyer drawled, peering up at him with narrowed eyes, "And before you go racing off as per usual with that damned sword in tow ready to charge, we don't necessarily mean a God from our universe."

"You think it's someone from another universe?!" he gaped.

"Naturally," Beerus sniffed, "It certainly isn't any one of us. Not to mention that our Supreme Kai and his suck-up assistant are nothing but spineless weaklings."

"Lord Beerus please," Whis warned, as the halfling tried to wrap his head around the revelation.

"So this deity, whoever it is, is ferrying power to The Void in order to revive Perses' strength so that he can break out?" he spoke thoughtfully, "Who would even _want_ to do such a thing?"

"The person doing this may be conniving, but on the other hand very gullible," his mentor spoke seriously, "Whether it be for their own selfish gain or dreams of power, a being like Perses wouldn't think twice about slaughtering anyone, even those who try to help him."

The teenager couldn't help but notice the haunted look in both of the deities eyes as Whis continued, "We believe that someone who is divine in nature is behind this, whether it be Kai or Destroyer, as only Gods are able to access the realm of The Void. The Angels are fated to remain indifferent, their sole purpose only to serve the Destroyer they are appointed to. And it is impossible for a mere mortal to do so."

"It has to be," Gohan agreed, "Like you said, Perses can't draw power from within The Void. So it must be coming from the outside, and someone must be helping him in order to do so, else given what I know about his track record, he probably would have tried this a lot earlier than now if he was powerful enough to do so."

"Precisely," said Whis, as the young saiyan continued to ponder.

"But where would someone get that kind of power from within the living world?"

"That's assuming that it is coming from the living world and not any other realm," Beerus piped up, before wincing, "Oww my head. How long does this last?!"

"We don't know where this power is coming from just yet," explained the Angel, "But we're looking into it. Like I said, that so far all we can surmise is that this source is being used in order to restore Perses back to full strength, the realms of which we may not have seen before. But know this Gohan, that in the final battle before his capture, Perses was mentally unstable, which led me to believe that he was not fully in tune with himself nor his power. Remember that I trained him years ago for many years, and know all too well that if he concentrates, unblinded by his selfish desires, then he is capable of so much more than what we have seen from him so far. Though after so many years in The Void, whether he be stable or otherwise, I am not sure what horrors will greet this universe if we are unable to prevent his escape."

Gohan swallowed hard, his skin crawled with a familiar icy chill, like an aftershock from sensing the former Junior Destroyer's energy. This sounded a lot worse than he had originally thought. He just hoped that they were able to find this divine catalyst before it was too late.

"It looks as though we were correct and that we may need to utilise this Super Saiyan God form sooner than we had expected," said Whis, more serious than ever before, "As soon as the month is up and you can summon Earth's Eternal Dragon, we will return to Earth to retrieve you. From there we will train you to master this form, the more divine power we have in our arsenal the better, for the sake of the universe."

The young Destroyer nodded dutifully, trying to push away the sudden feeling of dread that dropped into his stomach like a deadweight. He sighed, shaking his head as the image of a pair of sapphire eyes floated into his mind.

Standing up and stretching, he gave his mentor a wicked grin, "Well, I'm not just going to sit around doing nothing until then, let's train!"

"That's the spirit," Whis praised, breaking out into a smile before looking towards the deity who had sunk to the ground, "Are you quite certain that you're up for a spar, my Lord?"

Lord Beerus groaned in pain, "My head, it hurts so bad behind my eyes… it feels like I have icicles embedded into my brain! Damn Earthlings! How _dare_ they create something so tasty yet so dangerous! When this is all over I'll go over there, blow up their damned planet and - !"

"Now what good would that do?" the Angel asked haughtily, as Gohan snickered behind his hand, "I did warn you not to have another ice-cream, and did you listen? _No_. And besides, nobody forced it own your throat, Lord Beerus.

"Urgh," the cat-like God growled, "Fine I won't blow up Gohan's pathetic home-world if it will stop you from _screeching_ in my ears."

"That's better," Whis grinned, "Now, without further ado…"

With that, the blue-skinned deity waved his staff in a flamboyant flourish, and Lord Beerus sat up suddenly with his ears askew, scowling at the man as he suddenly found that he was headache free.

"You could have done that the entire time and yet you made me suffer," he snarled, as the teenager next to them doubled over in a fit of raucous laughter.

"Well," he giggled, "At least you've learned your lesson about overindulging yourself, my Lord."

The Destroyer gritted his teeth, quickly getting to his feet and taking his anger out on Gohan, grabbing him by the scruff of his garb and pulling him towards the training field as he tried - and failed, to contain his laughter.

"Come on then brat, _stop_ it, and we can - you are on your FINAL warning _boy_. How dare you laugh in the face of a God! Your elder! Now hurry up and get into stance and - and _stop laughing_!"

* * *

Bright flashes of light cascaded over the black clouds that now filled the darkening amber sky, creating violet crackles of lightening that rippled over the atmosphere in electrifying waves. Whis smoothly stepped aside as a stray Ki blast hit the ground, detonating immediately. Though the Angel paid the mess of falling debris no mind, his eyes fixated upon the destructive pair in the air, his sharp pupils following their every move.

A sonic boom echoed over the planes, followed by a raspy adolescent cry that swore loudly, causing the blue-skinned deity to tut at the vulgarity. How many times did he have to tell that boy about his language - ?

 **BOOM.**

Another howl of agony reached his ears beyond the clouds, though it was followed up with a brilliant golden light than shone brightly through the darkness. A vibrant blue beam shot through the air, though was extinguished in an instant by the young saiyan's opponent as quickly as it came. It appeared that Lord Beerus was going easy on the boy, the fight was lasting quite a while.

Finally, the clouds parted, and it was plain to see who was the clear victor - as always. Gohan's attire was soiled with dirt and torn in places, several grazes littered his body and he was even sporting a nasty purple bruise upon his cheek, along with a bloodied lip. However, it was rather surprising to see that Lord Beerus had a few blemishes on his body also, namely one on his torso, where the teenager's knee had managed to successfully imbed itself into his sternum.

The young saiyan had been rather pleased with himself, though his shocking yet small victory was short lived, as the God of Destruction had been knocking him around like a volleyball for the last twenty-three minutes and thirty-six seconds by Whis' estimations. Though as usual the Junior Destroyer, whose golden hair was now longer and more wild than ever before, still refused to give up so easily. His emerald eyes were wild and feral, as he launched himself towards his opponent once more.

And it was then that the ever perceptive Angel spotted the problem.

"Stop the fight, that's enough!" Whis ordered, materialising before them as his staff blocked Gohan's oncoming fist.

"W-Whis," the teenager panted, clutching his side and wincing, "Why did you - _pant_ \- s-stop? I had him on the - _pant_ \- ropes!"

"You weren't anywhere close to me for the last two rounds," Lord Beerus snarled, straightening his wristbands, "Except for when I was introducing my fists to your face."

"F-face?" he laughed breathlessly, "I think y-you - _pant_ \- broke a rib or three!"

To prove his point, the young saiyan moved the bloodied fabric of his tattered garb, exposing his torso, where a large purple bruise was forming around a deep cut in his side.

"Tch, stop snivelling," the God scoffed, "That wouldn't have happened if you weren't being so reckless."

"I still - _pant_ \- managed to hit y-you though," he grinned through his exhaustion,

Lord Beerus stopped short, gritting his teeth in anger as Gohan continued to smile wolfishly at him.

"Hmm, that's a point," said Whis with a thoughtful gaze, "You did seem quite tired my Lord. I'd say that you should probably go for a nap but I daresay that the timing couldn't be less than ideal."

"Shut up! I'm fine!" He snapped back.

"Well I'm just saying that you don't seem 'with it' is all."

"I-I just think I'm getting - _pant_ \- better," the teenager said jokingly, "T-That or you're getting old - OW!"

He glared, as the offending God retracted his fist from his skull, "Oi! F-fight's over!"

"Clearly," Beerus snorted, "It was over before it barely began, brat."

"Hey!"

"Lord Beerus is right Gohan," said Whis with a smile, causing the teen to scowl, "And I have to say that I am quite disappointed."

"Aw but - !" he began to whine, dropping out of the third level of his super saiyan transformation altogether, his hair and eyes returning to their usual length and colour.

"It is apparent to me now more than ever as you continue to build your strength, that your old habits are still holding you back from achieving your true potential," the Angel cut across him.

"What do you - _pant_ \- mean?" Gohan asked attempting to steady his breathing, when Whis teleported them back to the ground.

Ignoring the field of craters than greeted them, the young Destroyer collapsed on the singed grass, resting on his hands behind him as he continued to control his breath. Beerus stood next to him with his arms folded across his chest, remaining indifferent towards the conversation at hand.

"You are still thinking before you move, rather than just moving," Whis began to explain, which confused the teen greatly.

"Huh?" he asked, his breathing becoming more regular, though his exhaustion was still apparent, "How do you expect me to move if I'm not thinking about it?"

"Ah, I'll get to that," he smiled, "What you lack is a _balance_ my boy. On the one hand, when you fight you overthink, which is limiting your fighting speed. Messages can only travel through your nervous system so fast. When you rely on thoughts for physical action, you lose precious fighting time. The time you do have is wasted as you can become far too uptight, the tension making it difficult for you to move as fluidly as you could do without it. You put too much pressure on yourself."

Well, the teenager thought, he wasn't wrong there. He was forever putting pressure on himself to get stronger, to protect the ones he loved within this universe. It was incredibly stressful.

"However, the same could be said for the other side of the coin," Whis continued, "When you are losing or in danger, you become reckless, all sense of logical thought - and actions - fall apart as though they were never there to begin with, leaving yourself wide open. For example -."

 **WHAM!**

Gohan cried out in pain, as his mentor suddenly phased in front of him and sucker punched him in the gut.

"Argh! My ribs!" He yelped, a hacking cough spewing from his lips as he lay spread eagled on the ground. Clutching his bleeding side, he growled, "What did you do that for?! - Ow!"

He yelled again, grasping his throbbing skull as Whis thwacked him over the head with his staff.

"Quiet Gohan, I'm lecturing you."

"Sorry," he winced, tears springing to his eyes as Lord Beerus snorted with laughter behind him.

"Now, as I was saying before I was quite rudely interrupted," The deity drawled, as the halfling angrily spouted " _You hit me!_ ", "You only serve to prove my point young one. You see, you let your guard down very easily. And don't even get me started on your lack of thought in times of mortal peril. You seem to have this habit of letting go completely, flinging yourself towards your enemy in a desperate attempt without notion or reasoning, which could ultimately mean your end. Sound familiar?"

Gohan's eyes widened, sitting up fully with some difficulty due to his broken ribs, thinking back to a very poignant battle. One that had indeed resulted in the end of his life.

 _Cell chuckled as they broke apart, "You're letting your anger blind you_ ** _boy_** _."_

 _Gohan snarled, his broken heart pumping with adrenaline, "I'll make you pay Cell."_

"Ah right," he mustered sheepishly, "I see what you mean."

Whis grinned knowingly, "You have come a long way in your battle with the android Cell, though as I'm sure you already know, you have a long way to go too. Achieving this balance within your fighting and thoughts will only help you to improve. This balanced state, moving without thinking, though not with reckless abandonment is known as Ultra Instinct."

The teenager frowned, "Ultra Instinct? Is it something that only Gods can do or something?"

"Not necessarily Gohan," he explained, "Though it is not only rare to master, but it is notoriously difficult to achieve, even amongst the Gods. It is a complete sense of mental calmness, allowing your body to think and move independently of the other parts. I'm not expecting you to achieve it of course, not even Lord Beerus has mastered it fully and he's been a God for billions of years."

The God in question scoffed, before turning away.

"I'm merely explaining it to you so that you can overcome this learning curve," said Whis, "It will be useful for you to use this notion as reference in order to overcome your short fallings, overall making you a more competent fighter. Most certainly within severely dangerous situations."

"Master Whis?" he asked tentatively, thinking about his goal, "Can you do it? This Ultra Instinct?"

"But of course!" He chimed happily, "I am very well versed in the state, and I'll be there every step of the way to help you achieve a similar balance within yourself."

Suddenly, the sphere at the end of his staff started to flash an alarming green, causing the Angel's eyes to widen.

"Whoops, but not right now as it seems!" he chuckled, "That's your alarm, time is up for training today. It's getting quite late in your time zone back on Earth and we wouldn't want to rouse any more suspicion!"

"Wait wha - ?" Gohan yelped, as he was suddenly levitated to his feet, finding that his Earth clothes were now back on his back, his halo disappearing once more. Though to his annoyance he found that his wounds had only been ninety-percent healed. Though at least his ribs weren't broken anymore.

"A bit of self healing wouldn't go amiss," Whis grinned, reading his thoughts as a familiar white light began to build around him, "It's been a while since you got stronger the old fashioned way. Not to mention that it'll teach you not to get caught out next time! Toodles!"

The young saiyan groaned loudly as The Warp shot him into the atmosphere, and before he knew it he was back on Earth, berating his mentor - because of course, a brilliant white tunnel of light bursting into a clearing near his former home certainly wouldn't raise any suspicion at all!

Much to his chargin, he landed on his backside in the middle of the dark forest, though was silently glad that Z wasn't around to make fun of him. Standing up and brushing the leaves off his jeans he winced, looking down at the rapidly forming patch of blood that was drenching his white t-shirt. Given the fact that he wasn't fully healed due to his mentor's ruthless teachings, the wound in his side must have reopened in his crash landing. It definitely smarted, though was not by any means the worst he had endured after a sparring session with Lord Beerus.

Sighing begrudgingly to himself, the young saiyan kicked off tentatively from the ground, before making his way slowly through the skies towards his parents' house. It was already pitch black outside, though the blanket of stars above him provided all the light he needed. Only Zalama knew what time it was, but judging by Whis' quick reaction, it must have been very late. Spotting the silhouette of the cottage by the edge of the forest, the teenager began to make his decent. Though it seemed as though a certain someone was already waiting for him, sensing that she was very much awake before he caught the light of her eyes looking through the darkened kitchen window.

Cursing under his breath as he landed, he could only watch as the back door swung open, and the girl hurried across the grass to greet him. She was wearing her pyjamas, consisting of maroon checkered trousers and a light grey t-shirt that was slightly baggy and hung off one shoulder. She was wearing hair down, the long tresses whipping behind her as she skidded to a halt in front of him.

"Where the bloody hell have you been?!" Videl hissed, keeping her voice low as she scolded him, "I had to cover for you! I made up some bullshit story about you forgetting you had an amnesia check up! Luckily your parents brought it!"

"Well, um, you see…" he started, though the girl wasn't listening and instead pulled him into the house as she continued to rant.

"It's three o'clock in the morning! I've been waiting for you all night!"

He blinked in suprise, "You have?"

Videl scoffed, as if it was obvious, "Of course I have! I said I'd help you protect your identity didn't I? You certainly don't help things when you go swanning off whenever you feel like it without a word to any - eek!"

She yelped, quickly slapping her hands over her mouth as they stepped into the kitchen and she switched on the light above the cooker, bathing them both in an amber glow, her attention immediately drawn to the blood soaked shirt that he was currently sporting.

He inwardly cringed at the aghast look on her face. Why did he even decide to put on a white t-shirt that morning? He should have stuck to purple, at least it wouldn't have looked so obviously crimson. Then again, he didn't know that he would be subjected to having his arse handed to him by Lord Beerus.

"Oh my Kami!" she squeaked, struggling to keep her voice low as her eyes boggled, "You're hurt! What the hell happened?!"

"I'm fine Videl," Gohan reasoned, though in all honesty the gash in his torso was really starting to sting now, "It's nothing!"

" _Nothing?!"_ the girl guffawed, "Gohan, you're practically bleeding out!"

"It's fine, my mentors showed up and took me off planet for a bit of training," he explained with a charming smile, "It's nothing that I can't handle - ARGHHHH! Ow! _Shit_! Why would you _do_ that?!"

Videl snorted with laughter, retracting her finger from where she had poked him lightly in the side, meeting his glaring eyes that were full of betrayal.

"You were saying?" she quirked devilishly.

"It's fine if you don't _poke_ me!" he growled back, praying that no one had heard him scream. Though with a quick Ki check he found that the rest of the house were still fast asleep.

"Oh come off it, I barely touched you," Videl sighed, before pointing to the counter next to the fridge, "Now stop acting so macho and get your half-saiyan behind on the counter whilst I fetch Chi-Chi's patching up kit."

Gohan pouted, though reluctantly did as he was told, lifting himself up to sit on the work surface as the Satan girl rummaged in the medicine cupboard above the toaster. Usually, in most normal homes, the medicine cabinet or cupboard would be kept in the bathroom. However, Gohan's family was not normal, and from his memories they had a total of three cupboards decorated around the house which were mainly filled with bandages, dressings and antiseptic lotions and creams that were used to patch up the fighters of the family - and occasionally their friends should a spar or battle ensue.

"Here we are," said Videl, placing down a mixture of dressings, along with the _dreaded_ antiseptic and some cotton pads. He watched her as she ran the tap at the sink, filling up a large bowl with warm water and setting it beside them, along with a clean cloth which she dipped into the water.

She turned to him, frowning as she rung out the excess water from the cloth, "Well?"

"Well what?"

The girl rolled her eyes at him, "Take your top off genius. How else am I supposed to patch you up with it still on?"

"Oh right yeah, sorry," he said stupidly, blushing a little as he swiftly pulled off the blood stained garment and tossed it onto the floor.

He desperately tried not to notice the way that Videl's eyes seemed to run all over his naked, muscular torso. Though he reasoned that her wide-eyed gaze could have been due to the fact that he had a gaping slash in his side.

"Ouch," she winced, taking her warm cloth to him and cleaning off the blood that had already dried, "That looks nasty."

"Meh, I've had worse - ow!" he hissed, as she dabbed a little too hard, "Watch it!"

"Well sit up straight then!" she retorted in an agitated tone, though she still kept her voice low so as to not wake the other occupants of the house, "I have to clean it properly before I can dress it!"

The young saiyan scowled, though sat back a little more which allowed the girl to place herself directly in between his legs for easier access as she continued to gently brush his side, dipping the cloth in the water beside her that was quickly becoming pink with blood. He cleared his throat, his face heating up at Videl's closeness, that and her apparent lack of awareness that her proximately was threatening to give him an aneurysm. She was practically using his thighs as a workbench for goodness sake!

"Er Videl?" he managed to squeak, feeling his entire body heating up as her fingers accidentally brushed his belt, "A-are you sure that there's no senzu beans lying around anywhere?"

Whis would be thoroughly disappointed in him if he knew that he was taking the easy way out of healing, but in Gohan's opinion this was an emergency!

"Don't tell me that you're afraid of a little antiseptic, wonder boy?" she jested, and the halfling realised with displeasure that she was already holding the offending concoction in her palm, "And besides, your dad and I used our last two senzu in training today."

 _Figures_ , he griped, wincing as she started to apply the liquid which, Destroyer or not, stung like HFIL and nobody could tell him otherwise. He yelped, flinching as she applied even more, giving him an amused yet pointed look as he gripped tightly onto the edge of the counter.

"I'm _not_ scared, it just stings is all," he admitted, breathing out when she had finally taken a break to pour some more onto the cotton pad, "Yowch!"

"Oh don't be such a baby," she huffed, continuing to dab and ignoring the way he visibly cringed, "You screamed before I even touched you then."

"I bet _you_ wouldn't like it if you had an open wound and I dumped a load of stingy stuff into it," he said dryly, causing her to snort.

"No, you're right, it's not very nice," Videl chuckled, looking up at him with those twinkling sapphire eyes, "But you're _Son Gohan,_ you know? The Delivery Boy, Golden Boy Wonder, the kid that saved the world. All my life I've always had this picture painted of you that you're not afraid of anything, even dying for us."

He stared back at her, as she paused in her actions. In all honesty, he was rather afraid of just what he would do if she moved any closer.

"Everyone's afraid of something Videl," he smiled, attempting to curb the sudden rush of butterflies that swarmed his stomach.

"Hm, that's true I suppose," she replied, finally putting down the _bottle of death juice_ and picking up some bandages, sizing the now clean wound up, "Like how your dad is this big tough warrior, and yet he's terrified of needles."

He chuckled, "The funniest one is Vegeta."

"Vegeta?!" she blinked in shock, suddenly intrigued, abandoning the bandages for a moment, "What is he scared of?"

"Worms."

" _No_!" Videl gasped, "You've got to be joking! _Worms_?! B-but they're helpless! What could they even do to him?"

"Kami knows," he laughed, as the girl had to purse her lips to stop herself from snickering too loudly.

"I don't believe you," she stated, shaking her head in disbelief, "It cannot be true."

"Well, here's a story for you," Gohan grinned, unconsciously moving a little closer to her, "Did my friends ever tell you about The Ginyu Force who we fought on Planet Namek?"

She thought for a moment, before nodding her head, "Weren't those the gits with huge egos and stupid dance moves?"

The young saiyan nodded with a smile upon his lips, attempting to become a little more serious as he recounted the tale, "It was the biggest and scariest battle that I'd faced so far. We were still waiting on my dad to show up and help us get the dragonballs back before Frieza and his minions were able to steal the wish away from us…"

 _Gohan was no stranger to battle. He could feel the thick tension in the air around him, the fear running through veins, infecting bloodstreams like poison. He was fairly certain that he had seen more bloodshed than any other kid his age, though that didn't mean that he wasn't afraid._

 _The aliens in front of him may have acted like goofballs, what with their silly poses and flamboyant personalities, but that didn't deter from the crippling power that they possessed. At least their leader had already left, his appearance alone was enough to make the boy shudder, what with his thick purple skin, hulking stature and sharp horns atop his bulbous head. Though the depths to Captain Ginyu's strength was even scarier, and the young halfling was glad that they didn't have to face him, even if he had done a runner with the dragonballs. However, he gulped as a wave of realisation hit him, even if they did make it out of this alive, then fighting the sadistic Captain was inevitable._

 _What had started out as a fun adventure to revive their fallen friends with Krillin and Bulma had quickly turned into a nightmare. There was an ambulance of evil doers, a massacred race, not to mention an intergalactic tyrant hellbent on obtaining immortality. Things had gone so wrong that they had even resorted to teaming up with_ ** _Vegeta_** _of all people. One of the men behind their whole purpose for being on this doomed planet in the first place!_

 _It was utterly hopeless._

 _Oh how he wished that his father was with them, he would know exactly what to do, and Gohan was certain that he of all people could beat these goons. Come on Daddy, where are you?! He thought despairingly, wondering what was taking so long. Master Roshi had informed them that the earth-raised saiyan was on his way to help them, and by his calculations he should be arriving on Planet Namek at any moment._

 _Fighting the tears that threatened to spring up into his eyes at the thought of his father, the young boy shook his head. Mister Piccolo wouldn't be too happy if he started to cry, and he would not lie down and just forget everything that the strong Namekian warrior had taught him. He couldn't show weakness on the battle field, especially not with the desperation of death breathing down his neck._

 _Krillin and Vegeta were standing either side of him, and he could feel the tension radiating off of them in waves. Though they stood strong, their jaws set and their eyes hard like steel as they stared at the group of elite fighters who were currently playing a game of rock, paper scissors in order to decide who would be fighting who first._ _Their barbarous laughter cut through him like a knife, though the boy clenched his fists in determination, swallowing the lump that had appeared in his throat. He couldn't show any weakness. He needed to be strong and brave like Krillin and Vegeta!_

 _But despite his bold demeanour, he was still shaking._

 _Gohan let out a haggard breath, his onyx eyes darting around him as he looked for something to focus on momentarily in order to summon all the courage that he required. Though admittedly it was difficult on the predominantly green planet, the only thing that stuck out to him was Vegeta's white boots amongst the emerald grass._ _His eyes locked with the saiyan's feet, attempting to block out the cruel voices of The Ginyu Force as they discussed their favourite methods of torture and which one of their foes would suit it. It worked partly, as the young halfling managed to steady his nerves from the edge of a panic attack. Though as he was staring at Vegeta's boots, he noticed something marking his ankle._

 _At first he thought that it was a large blade of grass, until it started to move. Squinting his eyes, he saw that it was a kind of alien worm with a blueish green body that looked furry in it's nature and was possibly a little bigger than the earthworms that they had back home. Gohan had always loved discovering new animals, especially the ones that lived in the forest surrounding his house. He hadn't seen any animals on Namek yet, so naturally being a curious and inquisitive boy, found his little discovery quite fascinating._

 _"Wow Vegeta, look at that worm on your foot!" he blurted without thinking, "I've never seen one that looked like that before."_

 _The saiyan prince suddenly snapped his head towards him, causing Gohan to flinch. At first he thought that Vegeta might just blast him into smithereens for his comment, it wasn't exactly the best time to be pointing out the wildlife after all, especially not with all of their lives on the line._ _Though he was surprised when instead of blasting or shouting at him did the man all but stare, his lips drawing into a thin line as he registered the sentence that had just fell from the halfling's lips. Then slowly, Vegeta turned his gaze to where Gohan was pointing at - and paled._

 _All the colour seemed to drain from his face at once, before he turned a sickly green colour, his eyes widening in sheer terror. And what came next caused the young boy nearly fall over in a mixture of shock and disbelief._

 _"DIE!"_ ** _BOOM!_** _"DIE YOU DISGUSTING CREATURE!"_ ** _BLAST!_** _"CRAWL ON ME WILL YOU? YOU SLIMEY BASTARD!"_ ** _BOOM!_** _"YOU PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A SNAKE!"_ ** _BLAST!_** _"I AM_ ** _VEGETA_** _!"_ ** _BOOM!_** _"YOU THINK YOU CAN BEST ME?!"_

 _Gohan could hardly believe what he was witnessing, as the hot-headed prince kicked his leg in the air, flinging the poor worm off his boot and fired white hot blasts at the grass, scorching the earth and catching the attention of everyone present - even the flabbergasted Ginyus._

 _Though Vegeta appeared not to have noticed._

 ** _BLAST BLAST BLAST_** _"DIE! DIE! DIE!"_

 _"I think Vegeta's finally lost it," Krillin said disbelievingly under his breath._

 _Gohan blinked, cocking his head to the side as pillars of smoke rose into the air. He couldn't help but silently agree._

Videl practically doubled over with silent laughter when he had finished, having to bite the back of her hand for want of not making a sound. He couldn't help but laugh along with her as he watched her reaction. It was one of his favourite stories of Vegeta, other than the pink shirt incident. Though he supposed he could leave that one for another time, he didn't want the girl to bust a gut.

"Oh man, that is _hilarious_!" she breathed, attempting to calm herself down as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I know," said Gohan, "I wished I could have laughed at him back then, but he probably would have killed me if the Ginyu's didn't get to me first."

Videl gave him a sympathetic smile, "How old were you back then?"

"Six?" he guessed, trying to count back the years, "No, five actually. Wow that was a fair few years ago now."

"You went through a lot so young," she observed, somewhat sadly, picking up a large dressing and smoothing over his wound, taping it in place, "It's no wonder that you were able to beat Cell when you did. Just how strong are you now?"

"Not strong enough to not get creamed by my teachers obviously," he scoffed, musical laughter escaping her as she grabbed the roll of bandages.

He flushed a little, feeling her slender arms around his middle as she began to wrap the bandages around his strong torso. She wrapped some over his shoulder to keep it in place, and he was silent as he watched her work. Daring to admit that he was enjoying the feel of her hands upon his skin, smoothing over his shoulder and bicep, coming to a stop at his forearm, her fingertips lightly brushing an old scar from years ago.

"Thanks," he smiled warmly, admiring her work, and also her, "You're really good at this you know."

"I've had some practice," she mused, looking up at him from where she was stood in between his legs, the warmth of her body against his sending a shiver down his spine. He was certain that those eyes of hers were capable of penetrating his very soul. "Lucky I was here to help save you from your evil teachers."

"Yeah, lucky," Gohan breathed, albeit with difficulty.

"Did it hurt?"

"Huh?" he blinked, breaking out of his trance, and looking down at his bandages, "Oh you mean this? Nah, not really. I mean, not as much as if I was alive, pain kind of desensitises in death."

He felt as though he had said something wrong, as he saw something flicker behind her eyes, and she pulled away, but not completely.

"I mean," he tried again, flashing her a cheeky smile, "It didn't hurt as much as what you did to me with that damned antiseptic, that was _way_ worse."

Videl hit him playfully on the part of his chest that wasn't bandaged, though he could still see a hint of sadness to her eyes.

"Videl, are you alright?" the young saiyan asked tentatively, prompting the girl to sigh.

"I dunno, it's… it's silly," she started, as the teen watched her intently, "But I wish you could come back, you know? It feels selfish of me to know who you are and yet Goku and Chi-Chi don't even know that their own son is right under their nose."

Gohan bit his lip, feeling equally as guilty. But alas, they'd had this conversation before, "You know I can't."

A shuddering breath escaped her as she eyed his torso once more, making to tie off a loose end that she had spotted on the bandage, "I know. I just wish that you weren't so bloody noble."

In a swift motion, the young Destroyer grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. The girl looked towards him, his breath hitching in his throat as the starlight caught her features just at the right moment from the windowpane.

Gods, she was beautiful.

"I'm sorry Videl," he told her, his fingers interlacing with hers.

"You don't need to be sorry Gohan," she said with a smile that shone so bright that it could make diamonds look dull, "What you're doing is selfless. Though, I hope that you would stop for a moment to think about your own happiness."

There he was, sitting on the kitchen counter in his parents' old kitchen, his thumb brushing against the back of the hand he was holding, which just so happened to belong to the most incredible girl that he had ever met in his life. He suddenly felt as though he had been hit with a saiyan-sized sledge hammer.

Was it meant to be this way? So fast and intense? Like falling from a great height with no clear sign of the bottom?

He swallowed thickly, as he carefully formed his answer, "That doesn't matter."

She scoffed, "Of course it does."

They sat in silence, as he continued to say nothing, the butterflies buzzing in his stomach the only real notion he had that he was still there and not dreaming. He felt the rest of his body go entirely numb as she asked that all important question.

"What do _you_ want Gohan?"

The young saiyan gulped, her sultry, half lidded gaze boring into his. She was so close that he could feel her warm breath tickling his lips, drawing him forwards towards her. Videl had stood on her tiptoes to be able to reach him, her hand leaving his and running them both along his thighs and towards his hips. He shivered at her touch, trying so desperately not to think about how perfectly their bodies appeared to fit together, nor the glorious way her petite frame felt against his. The sweet smell of her long raven hair was making him dizzy, intoxicating him so much so that he felt his mind beginning to cloud over.

He stared at her lips, that were now only inches away from his own. She was _so close_ , all he had to do was dip his head a little lower and -

"Let's go for a walk!" He blurted suddenly, nearly causing the poor girl to fall over.

The spell was broken.

"A _walk_?!" Videl gaped, open-mouthed, "It's nearly four in the morning!"

"Come on Videl, where's your sense of adventure?" he grinned back at her, ignoring the blush that marred his cheeks as he jumped from the counter and pulled the hidden dragon radar out of his pocket, "Besides, you said that you'd help me collect the dragonballs, remember?"

"I _meant_ at a reasonable hour!" she huffed, drawing fully back from him and folding her arms across her chest.

"Ah it's basically breakfast time now anyway!" he smiled, picking up his blooded shirt from the floor.

Videl gave him a deadpan look, "What world do you live in?"

"One not full of kill joys," Gohan teased, "So stop being such a kill joy Videl and go on a walk with me. We can go trekking for dragonballs properly tomorrow if you're so against it, but I want to get a head start if we can."

Eyeing him for a moment, she sighed, unable to resist the puppy eyes he was giving her, "Fine, you win. But you are throwing away that t-shirt and putting on a clean one."

"I don't know, I kind of like the bandaged look," the teenager jested, "I think it makes me looks more rugged."

"You're impossible."

A quick two minute flight later, Videl and a now fully clothed Gohan found themselves on the other side of Mount Paozu, staring up at a towering mountain, the top of which was barely visible from their position on the ground.

"You've got to be joking," said Videl, hugging her arms around her pyjama clad self, one of Gohan's new hoodies covering her torso and her fighting boots upon her feet, "You said going for a walk, not climbing a frigging mountain!"

"What? It's not that hard," the halfling shrugged, dressed in own hoodie and a pair of his father's walking boots that he had nicked from the hallway, "And anyway, this should be easy for you what with training with my dad for a year."

She sighed, clearly unimpressed, "Can't we just _fly_ to the top?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Gohan scoffed with a wry grin, causing her to roll her eyes, "We can have a good old fashioned dragonball hunt! Let's climb to the top and switch on the radar from a good vantage point!"

"You really are hopeless," Videl drawled, before conceding reluctantly and starting up the rocky path that led up to the top of the mountain.

"That's the spirit!" he laughed, he could hear her muttering obscenities about 'stupid ghosts' and 'no sleep' under her breath.

He followed behind her with a spring in his step, the terrain not at all treacherous until they had reached the halfway point. The path became steep and narrow, winding up the mountain's rough surface, the wind now more obvious and cold upon their cheeks. Most normal earthlings would have turned back, but Gohan and Videl were anything but normal.

"I still can't believe that you managed to talk me in to this," the girl sighed begrudgingly, hopping over a large rugged boulder that blocked their route with ease, "I haven't gone climbing in years, not since I used to go camping with my dad before he won the tournament."

"Me neither actually, at least not for fun," he said thoughtfully, joining her on the other side of the boulder, "You're enjoying it though, right?"

"All right you've got me," she replied with an exasperated roll of her eyes, causing him to grin, "It's better than I expected. I've never gone this high up before either, well apart from flying."

To prove her point she peered over the edge they were standing on, peering down at the rolling hills and deep valleys below her. He watched her as the starlight bathed her features in a soft silvery glow, unable to keep his eyes off her. He had caught Videl too stealing glances at him as they trekked, though he was thankful that she didn't mention what had almost happened back at the house.

"Told you that it was a good idea," the halfling smiled, "I'd say we've only got another hour to go before we reach the top at this rate."

"Well, what are you waiting for wonder boy?" Videl winked at him, turning and leading the way up the mountain, "This mountain won't climb itself."

He made to follow her, unable to stop himself from sneakily eyeing her backside as she began to climb ahead of him, when a loud, monstrous roar stopped him in his tracks

Videl jumped back just as Gohan did, as an enormous pterodactyl suddenly swooped around the side of the mountain, its large talons raised as it launched itself at the two teenagers. They yelped, avoiding the dinosaur's claws easily as it crashed into the place they had occupied seconds earlier, sending dust and debris flying in all directions.

Videl coughed, as the young saiyan grabbed her hand, helping her to her feet.

"Damn dinos," she snarled, glaring up at the pink-scaled reptile who squawked to the heavens, raising its beak to the sky before turning on the pair.

The halfling smirked, "Nothing like a good dino fight on a dragonball hunt!"

The Satan girl rolled her eyes, as the beast's razor sharp teeth dripped with salvia, "You are having way too much fun with this."

His smirk all but widened, as the pterodactyl launched at them again.

Jumping effortlessly in the air, Gohan couldn't help but allow a bubble of laughter to escape his chest, "Woah, what's got your knickers in a twist?!"

The dinosaur's jaws snapped in response, flapping its colossal wings as a low growl erupted from its chest. A powerful gust swept towards them, though the teens braced themselves easily against the high winds.

"Oi watch it!" Videl scowled, narrowly avoiding its swinging tail as it too collided with the side of the mountain, sending boulders tumbling back down the steep path. "What the hell is your problem? It's not just _your_ mountain you know!"

The ferocious beast let out a bone quaking roar that echoed over the mountain range, aiming its claws towards the girl once more with deadly intent. Though before Gohan could step in, did he feel Videl's Ki spike and in a flash, it was all over.

Videl retracted her fist that had impeded itself into the dino's stomach, a deep frown upon her features. The pterodactyl had halted in its tracks, the force of the Satan girl's punch causing it to screech in shock and pain. Its dark eyes rolled to the back of its head as it promptly fainted with an enormous thud, skidding down the mountain and back to the forest below.

The young saiyan's mouth fell open as he stared at the girl in disbelief, he was half annoyed, half impressed.

"I had that one, you know," he stated, folding his arms across his chest haughtily.

"Sure you did," she smirked back, pulling back her punch in satisfaction and placing it on her hip.

Gohan responded by sticking his tongue out at her, causing her to laugh.

She started walking forwards, though soon stopped in her tracks as she caught sight of something over the edge of the mountain path. Hearing her gasp, the teenager quickly caught up, his eyes following her gaze towards a large pile of sticks and soil. Though on closer inspection, he realised that it was in fact a nest, with three enormous speckled eyes nestled inside.

"Now I just feel bad," he winced, his gaze travelling to the unconscious reptile below them, "She thought we were going to attack her babies. She was only trying to protect her eggs and we knocked her out."

"Well maybe she should have thought of that before she tried to rip us to shreds!" Videl growled, though he could sense that she did feel a little guilty, "Besides, the eggs weren't what I was looking at. Look at what else is tucked into the nest!"

Gohan frowned, stepping closer and peering into the mesh of sticks, mud and stones that encompassed the pterodactyl eggs. His eyes widened suddenly, as a flash of orange suddenly drew his attention.

"No way!" he gaped, hardly believing his eyes, "It's a dragonball!"

"Well looks like you were right after all," she smiled up at him, "It really was a good idea to come up here."

He grinned back at her, the dark sky now flecked with pinks and peaches as dawn approached them. The butterflies brushing his insides once more as she continued to stare into his eyes.

"So what are you waiting for?" she asked suddenly, snapping him out of his gaze, "Get in there and get it!"

Gohan blinked in confusion, "Why me?"

"I'm not having those dino eggs hatching on me!" Videl spouted in annoyance, causing the a halfling to scoff.

"You literally just K.O'd the mamma bird!"

"Exactly," she huffed, "It's your turn, so hurry up and get your arse in there wonder boy!"

"Oh alright," he sighed with a roll of his eyes, rolling up his sleeves and hopping into the centre of the nest, his boots landing on the twigs with a small crunch.

"I can't believe that we found one! And without even switching on the radar!" Videl chuckled to aloud, before realising that her companion had paused, crouching down to retrieve the ball near one of the eggs, "Gohan? What's wrong?"

The teenager cleared his throat, his mouth running dry all of a sudden as he stared at the dragonball in his palm, "It's nothing. I-It's just the four star ball, the one that's -"

"Usually passed down in your family," she finished for him, giving him a sympathetic smile, "I know, I've heard the stories. You alright?"

"Yeah," he replied, shaking his head in order to shake himself out of the sense of irony that had just encompassed him, "It's just typical that it'd be the first one I'd find, and out here too…"

"Hey don't look so glum," said Videl, her smile growing wider, "We had a good adventure finding it. And you did get to see me knock out that overgrown reptile."

"Yeah, it was pretty hot -, " he blurted without thinking, stopping cold as he looked over at the tiny vixen who was smirking at him in amusement. He was positive that his cheeks were blazing crimson. Damn it! He meant to say 'cool'!

"Oh, you found me beating up a dinosaur _attractive_ did you Gohan?" she pressed, her grin not once wavering.

"N-no!" he spluttered hotly, wishing that the ground would just open up already and swallow him hole, "I-I mean yes! I mean -"

He paused, as the girl snorted with laughter.

"Shut up!" he growled, his face burning as he attempted to salvage himself from the depths of humiliation, "Can't a man find a woman attractive when she fights?! Just take the compliment Videl."

"Compliment accepted," Videl grinned, enjoying watching the great Son Gohan squirm under her pointed gaze, "and stored in my memory bank for all eternity, along with that embarrassed look on your face."

"I'm not embarrassed," the young saiyan huffed, turning away from her and pocketing the dragonball instead. The sky was now steadily brightening around them.

"Oh really?" she jested, "Tell that to the one that resembles the tomatoes on Goku's farm."

Gohan fumed, rounding on her once more and opening his mouth to retort when -

"Oh wow Gohan look! It's the sunrise!" she gasped, causing him towards the horizon, where slowly but surely, the sun was beginning to peak over the skyline, casting a subtle glow over the mountains.

"Come on!" Videl called out to him in excitement, his embarrassment dissipating instantly as she grabbed his hand, her warm fingers interlacing with his, "Let's get to the top so that we can watch it!"

He chuckled, following the girl as her aura burst around her and she kicked off from the ground. He was unable to stop himself from holding her hand a little tighter as they climbed high above the clouds, reaching the mountain's peak just as the sun began to touch the valleys with the first of it's rays.

Gohan hadn't seen a sunrise on Earth since the day of The Cell Games. He had been up incredibly early, even before his father rose and the man had always been an early riser. Though the preteen couldn't find the will to sleep anymore, the anxiety barrelling through him all too much to handle. Which was why he had taken to sitting on the roof of his house, watching the sunrise come up over the Eastern mountains. At the time, he had been worried that he would never see another one, and neither would his mother or father. In hindsight, he hadn't been too far off the mark.

So he was grateful that he had been given the chance to see another, this time relishing in the picturesque view that greeted him. Though the sun's presence was not the only one's that he was basking in.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Videl spouted, her sapphire eyes lighting up with the flushed pinkish hue that bathed the eastern province, chasing away the twinkling stars above them.

As violet intermingled with amber, casting the shadows of the imposing mountains upon the emerald painted valleys the girl didn't realise that the young saiyan was not looking at the sunrise as he replied, "Yeah, beautiful."

The two teenagers watched as the vast sky ignited with colour and golden clouds. The view was truly spectacular, and Gohan could see for miles, a spire in Orange Star City glinting brightly at them in the distance as the growing sun caught its towering structure, painting the window panes with it's warmth. New, fresh waves of light swept the forest far below their feet, revealing silken webs entwined within the rich brown oak arms and glistening dew drops upon the wands of grass which stretched out to the horizon and back again. The air was calm and fresh, and the sound of birdsong reached his ears, greeting the new day as the world began to awaken.

Looking back to the girl whose hand was still clasped within his larger calloused one, Gohan smiled, an idea popping into head.

"Hey Videl," he spouted, causing the girl to tear her eyes away from the spectacle before them, "Want to see something cool?"

She scowled, "This had better not be anything rude."

"N-no!" the young saiyan choked at the accusation, before he sighed in distain, she really did enjoy teasing him, "I can't really explain though, it's better if I show you."

Videl eyed him sceptically, as he gave her an innocent smile.

"Oh come on," he chuckled, holding out his other hand to take too, "You trust me, don't you?"

"Alright, I'll humour you," she said after a moments hesitation, and then put her hand in his so that they were now facing each other fully, "Now what?"

Gohan flashed her a wicked smile, encasing them both in a spherical golden shield and causing her to gasp. Though before she could even so much as blink, did the young Destroyer teleport them away from the peak of the mountain, reappearing upon the very cusp of the Earth's atmosphere, releasing her hands so that the girl could take in her surroundings fully.

"What the - ?!" Videl gaped, her jaw flying open and her legs nearly buckling underneath her out of shock before she managed to steady herself.

"In my experience, this is the best way to see a sunrise," Gohan grinned back with a charming smile, his dark hair almost matching the darkness of space behind him, were it not for the myriad of sparkling galaxies that hung above their heads.

She was breathless, that was a given, her sapphire eyes drinking in the vastness of the Northern Galaxy and the magnificent globe turning slowly on it's axis below them.

"Gohan," Videl gasped, "T-This is _amazing_! I can't believe how high up we are! I can see the whole planet! H-How is this - ?!"

"Possible?" he quirked, amused by how speechless the girl was, "This shield is practically impenetrable because of the amount of concentrated energy I've put into it. It's pretty handy."

"Yeah," she chuckled, shaking her head in awe, "Just don't make a habit of putting me in a soundproof one, am I clear?"

"That depends on how much you tease me," he shrugged, earning himself a playful shove from the girl.

"This is incredible," she stated, looking back over the Earth.

Gohan smiled back at her, and to both of their surprise the young saiyan smoothed his hand over her wrist before interlacing their fingers together once more, "It's about to get even better."

He saw it happen, the way her eyes lit up in wonder as the dazzling sun, more clear than ever before it started to creep over the edge of the globe. The bright, glimmering lights from the cities began to wink out of existence, no longer standing out amongst the darkness, no more marking the boarders of the nation so clearly as the sun encompassed the other side of the planet.

It was breathtaking, awesome, marvelling. Videl was taking it all in, the sunlight lighting up her heart shaped face, brushing over her cheeks, her lips and catching the fire in her sapphire eyes that much resembled her soul. The great vastness of the Earth reflected in those deep blue pools, causing them to sparkle even more so. Though as the girl observed the astronomical delight with an almost girlish wonder, Gohan's gaze was solely on her.

He squeezed her hand a little tighter, causing her to turn towards him with a beaming smile.

"Thank you, thank you for showing me this," she said gratefully, her eyes locking with his.

Sudden silence. Sudden heat.

Now it was her turn to be breathless. He was staring at her with such intensity that it was almost palpable in the small amount of air that encompassed them within the golden shield.

 _His eyes_ , Videl thought to herself, her own searching his, _they're so dark._ Pitch black. Limitless. It made her wonder just how many stars he had seen.

This was dangerous, Gohan thought, a lump forming in his throat as his brain refused to cooperate with his tongue and find a way to talk himself out of this. Whatever _this_ was exactly, he wasn't too sure. He could almost hear her heart pounding rapidly in his ears as their bodies moved unconsciously to one other, almost like a gravitational pull.

Though it seemed that no words were needed. It was like an unspoken understanding drifted in between them. They both knew how they felt, what they wanted, and what was about to happen. He swallowed thickly. He knew that he needed to get them back down to the Earth before he gave in and did exactly what he had delayed back in the kitchen. He was going too far, too quick, too soon. And worst of all, as he continued to stare into her eyes, he realised that he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth of what he really was.

"Videl," he finally managed to speak, his voice so quiet it almost came out a whisper, "I don't want to hurt you."

Quite unexpectedly, the girl moved towards him in one swift movement, wrapping her arms around his stomach and resting her head on his strong chest. The glorious scent of her hair tickled his nostrils as he returned the gesture, marvelling in the sudden pressure of her slender body colliding with his. Gohan returned the hug with vigour, closing his eyes and relishing in the warmth she brought him, smoothing his hands over her petite waist and resting his chin on her head.

After what felt like an age, though was all too short for the young saiyan, Videl pulled away and looked up at him, her arms hanging loosely around him.

"I don't think that you could ever hurt me Gohan," she breathed, just as quietly, her nose inches from his.

He sucked in a breath, the reality of her words hitting him like a punch to the gut as his restraints began to quickly unravel.

His stomach clenched into a nervous knot of fear and longing as he brought up a hand and cupped her jaw in a gentle motion, his thumb caressing her cheek, "But I can't stay."

"I know," Videl replied softly, closing her eyes in understanding before opening them, allowing the light from the galaxies above to shine within them once more. She gave him a hard, blazing look as her hands moved from his stomach and smoothed over his broad shoulders, "But have you ever heard of just living in the moment?"

Something stirred within Gohan that allowed his last restraint to fall into the abyss. And, ignoring every logical fibre of his being that was screaming at him to stop, he leaned down and closed the small gap between them, capturing her lips in an earth shattering kiss.

It was a kiss that could break open the universe, stealing his breath and giving it back as if every other kiss that he'd had in his existence had been wrong. His heart, as useless as it had been for the past eight years, practically soared when the sudden pressure from Videl's mouth told him that she was kissing him back. All of his worries, his regrets, his duty seemed to fade away the instant that their lips connected. Fireworks erupted in his chest, his lips tingling as he moved them against hers, his fingers brushing her waist and one hand pushing on the small of her back to hold her closer to him. Videl was on her tiptoes, her lips parting his, deepening the kiss as her hands became entangled in his long ebony hair. It was heated, passionate, possibly even more so than he had experienced before, sending tremors up and down his entire body and evoking sensations from him that he never knew he was capable of feeling.

The butterflies in his stomach were going wild, as if cheering in celebration, roaring in triumph - could butterflies even roar? _Ah who cares?_ The teenager thought, as he finally allowed the girl to take a breath, panting heavily as she clearly needed the relief of oxygen more than he did.

He was breathless too as he stared back at her, returning the playful smirk that she had directed towards him. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly found that it was occupied as Videl pulled him back to her lips by his collar. Not that he was complaining, he thought, grinning against her lips, his heart feeling lighter than it had done in years. How long had it felt so heavy for anyway?

He didn't know what he was thinking - he _couldn't_ think even, and there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. But here he was, with a pyjama clad girl high up in the middle of the atmosphere, a vast array of twinkling stars above them and the entire Earth at their feet, kissing her for only the stars to see.

* * *

 **Lord Beerus' Planet, A Far Away Dimension, The Living World.**

"Oh dear," Whis observed, frowning in concern as he and Lord Beerus watched the young Junior Destroyer from his sceptre, "It seems that we may have a slight problem, my Lord."

* * *

 _8th January, 2019._

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 _A/N: OMG! They kissed! Yay FINALLY! I am so giddy right now. Hope you lovely readers have enjoyed this very long chapter! :') More to come soon! ES x_

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 **Reviews:**

Animefortin95: In a way you are correct. Gods, especially destoryers can technically do what they wish, however they have to abide by the divine code. Explained in the first few chapters, Gods aren't supposed to have children with mortals - mainly because of Perses as he his half kai. however it says nothing about kissing them ;) and more about the GohanxVidel pairing will be revealed as the story continues. The fact that Gohan cannot stay and is bound to his duty raises a huge dilemma, which is a theme in this story that will continue to be explored.

Aaron Leach: thank you!

TheRangerBoy: same! never heard of a Majin Goku before, but I thought that the loss of Gohan would certainly effect him in a negative way.

keyblademeister88: thanks for your review! I know I cannot wait for Gohan to reveal himself. I have the whole idea down. I promise it'll be epic.

Dingus : wow thank you so much for your review! Im so happy that you get my concept on what I'm trying to do with Gohan, keeping his dorky persona as you say from cannon but overlaying it with his destroyer personality that he has gained from his experiences. It really means so much to me when I get reviews like this so thank you :)

ashlovesdbz: thanks so much! I'm glad I'm managing to keep you on the edge of your seat with this story! Expect more upcoming twists and turns!

Thomas-The-TMC : exactly what I was going for. thank you!

Lawrence HBain : Gold star! the weird looking frog is in fact Captain Ginyu!

animeflunky : thank you so much!

DaDragon562: so many feels! glad you enjoyed the chapter along with Videl fluff!

Liltye504: wait and see!

MadmanJrs: thanks for your review! yes videl has gone through some shit whilst being around the z-fighters, so Gohan popping up isnt awfully crazy for her to process, just a shock that the boy she has been helping has not only lied to her, but is in fact the saviour of earth and the boy that saved her all those years ago. I really wanted to get a different take on Goten, the way he looks up to his brother in the cannon is so sweet, so of course I abolished it completely. He never knew this kid, though he understands why it is sad for everyone around him. I will be exploring more of Goten's character and his feelings towards Gohan in later chapters. There are so many feels in this story! Glad you like the Gohan and Videl interactions, and most importantly the ending of this chapter in particular ;) And the Kiao-ken was a MUST for Videl, I hate how useless she is in Super, she should be a Z-Fighter not a supporter in my eyes!

victor0606: thank you!

dspendragon125: thanks!

Reacted: me neither! :)

Kal824 : glad you liked the Majin Goku concept. and I cannot wait for the reveal either.

Chosen To Die: aww thank you so much! I cannot describe how happy it makes me when I read reviews like yours!

Leafeon12: thank you! Gohan vs Goku mayyyy be in the works ;)

Lightningblade49 : exactly, and I just made it even harder for him to leave!

romanovascap: thanks for your review! glad you liked the themes in the last chapter. The other characters like Krillin, 18, Yamcha etc will be making a come back, and I aim to give everyone time to shine in this story, so hope you look forward to that! Gohan's dilemma is a great one, especially when it comes to what to tell his father or allow him to believe.

Iwik : thank you so much for your review! glad to hearing that you're enjoying this story and all the FEELS. and of course, Goten just has to have a kissy kissy line, its like gospel haha.

Ethhar: SSG Gohan is essential, dont you worry about that!

PhoenixFire100: aw thank you!

Dan2018 : thank you! yeah maybe they should recognise him, but that is what makes it even sadder. because they gave up :(

HalfbreedSayian : thank you! glad you enjoyed Gohan's solution to the lab problem. he is a destroyer after all!

JemDragons: totally what youre saying, this might be explored as a later date as a bonus chapter for the Buu saga!

DBZfan: thanks! and yes dont know what happened to my grammar there! yikes!

EleazarTheUnforgotten: thank you so much for your review. glad you liked the scene with the telescope. I never wanted Gohan to lose sight of himself, even as he continued to become a destroyer, though of course there are differences there as he has grown up with his most important years surrounded by Gods. and I really wanted to get a sense of the world without Gohan, so thank you so much for seeing that!

FireEmblemMaster101: thanks for your review! Yeah I went a little over the top with Goten at first as I wanted to highlight Gohan's annoyance to him at first. and im happy that you like my OC's - who will be making another appearance! I love Makhai too, he is my fave!

RedDragonforce 1 : thank you! glad you liked the Majin Goku idea, and the fact of no fusion - to be honest it was cool but I think it makes the fact that the Buu saga was even harder for the gang to overcome without it. so adds to the story a little. I have of course, posted your narrators narrative above! loving it btw! thanks so much for your continued support!

johndoe86 : exactly. For Goku, losing the son that he willingly sent to fight his battle, then not knowing what had happened to his soul and not being able to bring him back. It would destroy him. Hence, Majin Goku.

Lord0: haha I hope I continue to spoil you!

Tumama123: many people have asked for this! There will be a fight!

X3runner : not sure if I'm going to completely abide by the tournament route, it doesnt entirely fit in this story, though there will be some epic scenes between universes that I have mapped out already. so look forward to those! There will certainly be more Chi-Chi feels in upcoming chapters.

Declan Campbell: soon!

DragonCrusader : haha glad you agree! I'm all for the ouchy feels!

The reject: thank you so much! it really does mean a lot!

Zeromaru Chaos Mode: thank you! and oooo beans will be spilled... but I cant tell you when ;)

Readallday1243: thank you!

LEO LOVER 2016: i literally cant wait! and im the one writing it haha

noble1000 : thanks! glad you enjoy the british! and dont worry this story WILL be finished! I promise!

Crodog12: thank you so much for your review! You raise some interesting questions that if I answer it'll be a huge spoiler but you have a good train of thought!

RazorBlaze : thanks so much! glad you are enjoying the story and hope you have enjoyed this chapter too! Yeah Gohan is 9 in the manga when he fought Cell, but he is 11 in the anime. I am going off the anime for ages!


	17. Nightmares Realised

_**A/N:** Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for your continued love and support, I am constantly amazed at the support and good feedback I get from this story, it really helps me to write and pushes me to get better! I really really hope you enjoy the next chapter. Lots of developments to come! I also must give a little warning for this chapter, some of it is a little darker and hints of adult themes - just right to give you fair warning. I may have to change the rating to M as the story continues, but let me know what you think. For know I will keep it the same unless others think otherwise! xD I also listened to a lot of how to train your dragon soundtrack whilst writing this chapter - especially battle of the green death. I think you will know which bit it fits into! Give it a listen to get into the vibes if you wish! ES x_

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 **And a narration by RedDragonforce 1:** Narrator's voice: Last time, our Young destroyer attempted to spend time with his family, Trunks, and Videl when he gets interrupted by visitors showing up and not just for the local delicacies. (Beerus's voice: How could you forget something like that?! Ice Cream, Pizza, hotdogs, burgers, fries, and _ketchup_ of all things! The surprisingly tangy yet sweet flavour?! It's INGENIOUS!) After a thoroughly punishing training session, and insight on a new form (Whis's voice: This balanced state, moving without thinking, though not with reckless abandon is known as Ultra Instinct.), he returns to an irate Videl who spent all night up waiting for him. The two of them bond as she patches him up and they end up seeing a beautiful sunrise along with their first Dragonball. (Videl's voice: Gohan! T-this is amazing! I can't believe how high up we are! I can see the whole planet!) As romance blooms with the rising sun, will this end up being Gohan's downfall? (Whis's voice: Oh dear. It seems that we may have a slight problem, my Lord.) Find out next on "Son Gohan the Destroyer!"

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 **Chapter Seventeen**

 **Nightmares Realised**

 **xxxx**

 **Mount Paozu, Eastern Mountains, Planet Earth.**

"So, are you going to tell me what's eating you?"

Gohan looked down at the girl who was nestled against him, her head lying comfortably on his strong chest as they basked in the early morning sun atop the mountain. The light summer breeze grabbed pleasantly at his hair, the young saiyan using one of his arms as a pillow behind his head whilst the other encompassed Videl's petite frame. His fingertips lazily brushed the soft skin of her waist, her t-shirt having ridden up slightly and exposing the curvature of her hip. Gohan's clothes were in a similar state of disarray, having become ruffled from exploring each other over the fabric.

He had brought them back down to Earth a while ago, though the Destroyer-in-training felt as though he was still soaring high above the clouds. His lips were slightly swollen from all the feverish kissing, his cheeks still flushed from the aftermath as he was still trying to process the fact that he wasn't dreaming. He had lost count of how many times he had kissed her, probably hundreds by now, though kissing Videl evoked a breathless sensation which had struck him with the most overwhelming thoughts. Ones that he had to shove to the back of his mind before he could dwell on them too much, for want of not becoming wrapped up within the realm of 'what ifs'.

The spine tingling sensation of her breath intermingling with his was enough to drive him wild. The way her fingers touched every part of him, as though caressing his soul, her body melting into his. He loved the way her eyes would shine with longing as he leaned in for another kiss, and the soft noises of appreciation that would escape her as he proved to be a little more daring with his hands.

The mild coolness of the mountain air didn't bother him as she lay her warm body against his side. Their shoes were kicked off somewhere behind them, allowing her bare foot to trace the back of his calf, her arm across his stomach, tracing patterns on his t-shirt with her fingertips. She was practically on top of him, their limbs tangled together. And Gohan couldn't remember ever being this at peace, not even when he had been alive. How long had it been since he had lay in the morning sun like this?

It had been incredibly difficult, but he had managed to pull himself away from her lips before it got too intense. And _hell_ was it intense. It was like the entire Earth had lost its gravity and the only thing grounding him was the pull that he felt towards her. He was grateful that Videl didn't protest when he had stopped before they reached the point of no return, he was already falling too hard for her, and he didn't want to complicate things even more. As much as the thought caused his entire body to heat up almost unbearably.

Though the Satan girl seemed to be enjoying just being next to him as much as he was to her, and they had spent the last half an hour or so just talking and relishing in each others company. They spoke mainly about mundane things that casually passed between them in a bubble of laughter or a teasing gesture that carried over the rocky peaks surrounding them.

He had learned a lot about Videl that morning, and not just _ahem_ physically. She had told him that when she was nine, her mother had died of the same heart virus that had once plagued his father, momentarily chasing away the blissful haze they had found themselves in. Gohan was shocked at that, and felt the guilt creeping in as he realised that his father had been saved yet Videl's mother had passed, unable to be resurrected by the dragonballs due to dying of natural causes. She had waved off his concerns, informing him that she didn't blame the Z-gang for having the means to twist fate and not been able to save her mother. The cure for the virus had been spread world-wide not long after her mother had died, and she reasoned that she had made peace with it a long time ago.

Apparently, Miguel Satan had been a singer - albeit a struggling one, which was why Videl's father had sought to training himself into the ground in order to win money from the WMAT. They had been very poor before that, and Gohan found himself developing a new found respect for the once pompous man. He had been rather pleasant to him when he'd had dinner with them after all. It was nice to know a reason why the man was so eager to challenge Cell - the publicity he would've gotten from 'beating' that monster would have been enough to make him a world famous billionaire.

Videl had laughed when he had asked her if she could sing like her mother, and quickly informed him that even though she may look more like her mother than her father, that she was subsequently tone deaf, and thus threw herself into martial arts instead.

 _"I like training with your dad, he's a good teacher," she had told him, causing him to frown in thought._

 _"That reminds me, why did you seek out my dad as a mentor anyway?" he had asked._

 _Videl had shrugged, "I wanted to get stronger, it's as simple as that. And after what happened with Cell and Majin Buu, I didn't want to just sit uselessly on the sidelines, waiting to be killed. Your dad seemed like the best possible candidate, he said that he saw something in me at the tournament, and that I had a lot of potential. If there was anyone that could help me progress beyond my limits then it was Goku. I just want to protect the ones I love if there comes a time when the Earth's in danger. A bit like you, I suppose."_

After that, a comfortable silence had hung between them, and the young halfling found himself staring up at the clear blue skies above. It was set to be another beautiful summers day, and he found it rather perplexing that the Earth could look so at peace when he could sense such darkness growing in the backdrop of the universe's usual hum of natural energy.

It seemed that Videl had caught onto the way that his shoulders suddenly tensed, the sound of her voice breaking him out of his thoughts.

"What do you mean?" he asked her dumbly, not wishing to worry her.

"You don't honestly expect me to believe that your mentors whisked you away so unexpectedly _just_ for a training session do you?" she said pointedly, lifting herself up so that she was facing him, "You were gone for an awfully long time."

Gohan swallowed, his hand coming to rest on her hip as her sapphire eyes bore into his.

"That and you're frowning so much that your face is going to get stuck like that if you're not careful," the girl chuckled, causing him to pout, "Now come on, out with it wonder boy, what's up?"

The young saiyan sighed, damn this girl, she was too perceptive for her own good, "It's nothing for you to worry about."

Videl scoffed and rolled her eyes playfully, "But _you're_ worried about it, so tell me. Honestly, you'll drive yourself crazy if you keep everything bottled up inside."

He stared back at her, she was right in a way. And what with the way she looking at him with concerned yet trusting eyes, he couldn't help but confide in her.

"It's Perses," he said, exhaling somewhat shakily, "You know that evil deity that I told you about? Well, you were right. My mentors didn't just pick me up yesterday for training, they told me that Perses is gaining a huge amount of power, rapidly, and that a God from another universe is most likely helping him to escape."

"Wait, _another_ universe?" Videl gaped, "You mean we're not the only one?"

Gohan shook his head, "There are twelve universes in total, we are the seventh. And every one has its own sets of deities to watch over their respective universe. Each universe has Kais and," he paused, "… other Gods to maintain the universal balance or else it'll end up imploding, basically. There's an Angel for each universe too, who are tasked to serve and train Gods. Whis, who is our Angel, is my mentor."

"Holy hell that's crazy," she gasped, "But Gods aren't supposed to be evil right? Why would one want to help out someone like Perses?"

"That's exactly what we want to know," he sighed in annoyance, "I wish I could help out and look for whoever it is, but I wouldn't know where to start, I haven't even been to any of the other universes or met their Gods. The only thing I can do right now is wait to find out how I can obtain this Super Saiyan God form, but it's not looking good. Perses is getting stronger, and I'm not sure if I'll get this form before he manages to escape, or even if it'll be enough to face him. Not even Lord Beerus, who's the strongest God of our universe was able to destroy him, and he's crazy strong. I can barely land a hit on him."

Videl's eyes searched him, saying nothing as he continued, his gaze still cast up at the sky, "Perses power… I've never felt anything like it before Videl. It's so strong, and dark, and just _awful_. It's been hanging around in the back of my senses ever since I first felt it, as if reminding me that I can't do anything useful to stop what's about to happen."

"But you're doing all you can right now," she said softly, causing him to snort.

"It's not enough," he told her, "The Supreme Guard are being more useful than I am right now, and they've not come up with any leads on who's behind this. But at least they are doing _something_. Whereas I'm just sitting around Earth, twiddling my thumbs and hoping that the Eternal Dragon will be able to tell me something about a prophecy that I don't even know will work out."

He paused in his rambling, only to find that Videl was frowning at him.

"What?" he quirked, surprised as her soft hand suddenly cupped his cheek, locking eyes with him.

"Gohan, listen to me," she started, her warm breath tickling his lips, "You need to stop beating yourself up, you're only making this harder on yourself. Secondly, what ever happens, you _will_ win this."

The halfling gave her an incredulous stare, "How could you possibly know that? You haven't seen me fight for eight years for a start."

"Because it's _you_ , Gohan," said Videl, giving him a heart stopping smile, "The way you speak, your nerve, your heart. You're a hero, in every sense of the word. And I know that you'll find a way."

Gods, he wanted to tell her so badly.

His stomach swooped in such a way that he could have sworn that it had flipped over, as she pressed her lips against his in a sizzling, heartfelt kiss. A rush of tenderness filled his chest, as he allowed his hands to trace her curves before pulling her on top of him. Her legs straddled his hips, as she continued to kiss him deeply, her tongue teasing his and causing his head to spin. A searing heat was soon building between them, and after a couple of minutes a very hot and bothered Gohan had to use all of his willpower to release her, pulling back from her lips completely and resting his head on the ground. The pair of them were panting desperately, flustered as they stared at each other through a half-lidded gaze.

The halfling cleared his throat, his cheeks flushed as Videl gave him a wry smile from where she was towering above him, her long raven locks tickling his collarbone before giving him a smaller peck on the lips. Then with a sigh that almost sounded disappointed, she clambered off him and began putting her boots back on. He smiled at her sheepishly, quickly averting his eyes before reaching over to his discarded hoodie and pulling the dragon radar out of the pocket.

"Well, I suppose I'd better do what I came up here to do," he said, clicking the button on top of the radar and watching the flashing signals of the dragonballs come to life across the gridded screen.

Videl smirked back at him, "You mean, you didn't bring us all the way up here just to snog me senseless for the last two hours?"

"No," he chuckled, allowing a wicked grin to spread across his lips, "I didn't actually plan on that bit."

"Could have fooled me," she scoffed playfully, "The whole taking me to watch the sunrise coming up over the planet thing was pretty suave. Just how many girls has that old trick worked on?"

"W-what?! None! I just wanted you to see something beautiful, I didn't do it to woo you or anything!" He gaped, offended, before giving her a mischievous look, "Doesn't mean that I didn't thoroughly enjoy it though."

She laughed, rolling her eyes, "Wonder boy, you really _are_ perfect."

Gohan blushed, "Well, I wouldn't say that."

"Just take the compliment Gohan," said Videl, winking at him, "I mean, it worked didn't it?"

A hand flew to his hair as he smiled back at her, this girl was really something.

"So how long do you think it'll take to round these babies up?" she asked him, peering at the glowing dots on the radar.

"A day or so maybe," he shrugged, standing up and stretching, the girl following suit, "They look pretty well spread out. Though it depends on whether or not someone already has one in their possession. Most old folks know what they are because of legends and old stories, so will be less likely to want to give them up. Others think that they're just valuable ornaments or treasure, so it might take me a little longer to collect them all if I have to persuade people to give them to me."

"Persuade?" she asked pointedly, "Don't you mean threaten?"

"Oi, I'll have you know that I only plan on threatening people if things get a little hairy," he retorted, though couldn't help the smirk that graced his lips. She knew him too well already.

"Whatever," Videl snorted in amusement, "Come on, we'd better get back to the house. I still want to get some training in this afternoon before we have to head home. That and I'm _starving_."

As if roaring in agreement, the young saiyan's stomach decided to make its presence known, as an enormous guttural growl echoed over the mountain range, causing Videl to stare at him in bewilderment.

"Oops sorry," he chuckled, clutching his aching belly, "I haven't eaten anything since yesterday."

The girl rolled her eyes, though she seemed to understand the urgency of the upkeep of a saiyan's stomach, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, I was sort of so wrapped up in kissing you that I didn't really notice," the teenager said rather bashfully, causing her to smile.

"Aw, that's sweet," she said, before reaching up and giving him a long kiss on the lips, taking his breath away once more, "Let's get you some breakfast and a nap before you go off searching for the dragonballs. That wound of yours still needs to heal after all."

He nodded eagerly at her words, the weight of the past day suddenly hitting him all at once, and he realised just how tired he was. His eyes were becoming heavy and his body was indeed still healing from his spar with Lord Beerus.

"Besides we've been up here so long that your mum is going to be getting suspicious," Videl said with a indicative look, "I _am_ still in my pyjamas."

"Worth it," Gohan grinned back wickedly, "Though I totally wouldn't be saying that if she knew who I was. I would've never gotten away with sneaking out with a girl like this if I was still alive."

"Yeah," she almost giggled, "It feels kind of naughty, doesn't it?"

The teen saiyan wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, though before he could seize her lips again in a passionate embrace, did he find himself nearly knocked off the mountain by the girl's playful shove.

He stuck his tongue out at her as she laughed, before kicking off from the ground and leading the way back to the small cottage by the edge of the forest. After a short flight, they landed in a clearing a few trees deep so as to not rouse suspicion on Gohan's part. Though he wasn't entirely certain that this family would have noticed, due to the irate screams that echoed from the open window.

"PREPARE YOURSELF KAKAROT! FOR THIS WILL BE YOUR LAST VICTORY!"

The halfling's eyed widened, was that Vegeta?!

"VEGETA NO! DON'T DO IT!" came his father's horror stricken cry. "HAVE MERCY!"

"NEVER! **DIE**! "

"AH NOOOOOO! WHY DID YOU HIT ME WITH THAT?!"

"HAHA! YES! I HAVE FINALLY SURPASSED YOU KAKAROT!"

"VEGETA, HOW COULD YOU?!

"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

What in the world was going on in there? Gohan thought, utterly bewildered as their energy didn't feel as though they were fighting. Though his father's cries of despair were unmistakable.

Wasting no time, the young saiyan raced into the house, Videl hot on his heels as they followed the yelling down the hallway. But when the teens reached the living room, all Gohan could do was stare blankly at the scene before him. Though he was glad that no one was in any immediate danger, or that Vegeta had somehow reverted back to his old ways.

"Yes! Suck it Kakarot!" Vegeta roared, his obsidian eyes wide and feral as he leered at the television screen, a controller grasped tightly in both of his hands.

He was sat on the floor with his father next to him, surrounded by cushions as they leaned up against the sofa that Goten and Trunks were sat upon. Both boys were cheering for their respective fathers, their eyes wide in excitement and anticipation. Goku growled, gritting his teeth as he used his own controller to steer his character in the right direction, attempting to catch up to Vegeta's who was racing ahead of him.

"Watch out for the tiny mushrooms Dad!" Trunks bellowed suddenly, as the tiny race-car driver spun widely on the track.

"ARGH! DAMN IT!" Vegeta cried, watching in horror as Goku's character sped past him.

"Ha! Eat my dust Vegeta!" he teased, sticking out his tongue in concentration as he drew his gaze back to the screen.

"As if I'll let you win, clown!" the older saiyan glowered, resuming the race at hand. "It's not over yet!"

Videl sighed heavily from where she was stood next to him, "Not again."

"This happens often?" Gohan quirked, tearing his gaze away from the video game.

The girl opened her mouth to reply, when his mother's voice suddenly cut across them.

"And just where on earth have you two been?" Chi-Chi asked as she waltzed up behind them, catching the attention of the other occupants of the room. "You missed breakfast."

"Oh Beerus and I were both up really early, so we decided to go for a walk," Videl lied smoothly.

"In your pyjamas dear?" the woman asked, eyeing them both sceptically and causing the young saiyan to cringe, "That's a good way to get a cold."

"Ah it's fine Chi-Chi," she waved her off with an innocent smile, "I thought that there was no point in changing seen as I was going to get into my gi when I got back anyway. Sorry we took so long, we decided to have a little spar and lost track of time."

"I thought you told Goten that Beerus didn't practice martial arts," his mother said pointedly, her stance unwavering.

"Eh, he dabbles. I just didn't want Goten to know incase he wailed on him," Videl said offhandedly, before giving the young man in question a sly wink, "Though I have to say that he's got some pretty good moves."

Gohan gaped at the girl, heat rising to his cheeks. Did she just…? In front of his _mother_?! That tiny little she-devil!

Though to his relief, his mother didn't seem to cotton on to Videl's suggestive tone, "Well alright, but I was worried Videl, there's lots of dangerous animals around here…"

"Ah Videl's fine Chi-Chi!" Goku called over to them, though his eyes were still glued to the television, his fingers tapping wildly on the controller in his hands, "She can handle herself!"

"Maybe so, but that doesn't stop me from worrying," Chi-Chi frowned at the man, before turning back to the teens, "How did your appointment go Beerus? You certainly took a long time."

"Yes _Beerus_ , how did that amnesia appointment of yours go?" Vegeta snickered from the floor, though luckily the others didn't seem to pick up on his sarcasm.

"Oh it was fine," he replied quickly, shooting a glare at the chortling prince, "Actually I met up with some _friends_ who wanted to know what I've _been up to_ , which is why I took so long."

The teenager smirked in satisfaction, as the man's eyes widened at the revelation. Though his sudden lapse in concentration caused him to lose the game.

Ignoring Vegeta's cry of outrage and Goku's subsequent laughter, Chi-Chi smiled, "Well that's nice. And I'm glad it went well. I'd better rustle the two of you up some breakfast, I bet you're both hungry."

"Thanks Chi-Chi that would be great," said Videl, as Gohan let out a huge yawn next to her.

"Oh dear, tired Beerus?" his mother questioned, the young man certainly did look exhausted.

"Yeah, my er… appointment took a lot out of me," he reasoned, sharing a glance with Videl, "That, and I was up early."

"Well why don't I rustle you up a couple of bacon sandwiches and you can take them to Goten's room and rest for a while. I'm sure he won't mind," she said warmly, and the young saiyan could have hugged her right then and there.

"Yeah Beerus, I don't mind you sleeping in my room," said Goten, a happy glint in his eyes, "We're going to be really loud in here anyway, and that way you won't get disturbed."

"Thanks Goten," he smiled back as his mother bustled back into the kitchen.

"Kakarot! I want a rematch!" Vegeta spouted suddenly, glaring at his saiyan comrade.

"Nah I'm done, let someone else have a go," Goku chuckled, putting down his controller and resting back on the edge of the sofa.

The saiyan prince growled, "You wouldn't be saying that if _I_ had won!"

"Are you going to play Videl?" asked Trunks, his eyes wide.

"Sure, why not?" she grinned, prompting the others to groan, including Goku and Vegeta.

"Aw no not Videl! She _always_ wins!" Goten whined, slapping a hand to his head in frustration.

"Oh don't be such a sore loser Goten," Videl scoffed, though she was clearly amused.

"Well, just so you know, I'm on Uncle Vegeta's side this time!" the boy shot back, sticking his tongue out at her.

She shrugged, squeezing herself in between the two larger saiyans, "That's fine, if you want to support the _losing_ team I suppose."

"Big talk coming from a weakling," Vegeta snorted, before glowering at the girl as she picked up Goku's abandoned controller, "Just so you know, I won't be going easy on you, girl."

"Bring it, Vegeta," she grinned back, readying the start menu.

As much as Gohan would've liked to have seen who would come out on top between Vegeta and Videl - in all honesty his bet was on Videl, he was far too tired to stand and watch. A part of him actually wanted to join in, feeling as though he was missing out on the fun. Though as soon as his mother handed him his bacon sandwiches, did he trudge off down the hallway and towards Goten's bedroom. The sound of laughter and exasperated cries of Vegeta following him up the stairs.

The three sandwiches that Chi-Chi had made for him didn't go very far, much to his disappointment. And thus his half-saiyan stomach was less than satisfied. Though he reasoned that he might get away with sneaking a snack at some point after his nap. After eating, Gohan got himself a relaxing hot shower, applied some fresh bandages to the healing wound in his side and readied himself for bed. Climbing over the mountain of toys that were left scattered around the room in the aftermath of Trunks and Goten's sleepover, the young saiyan stripped himself of his towel and put on a fresh pair of boxers and t-shirt before clambering into Goten's bed.

As soon has his head hit the pillow, a wave of complete exhaustion seemed to barrel into him, his muscles relaxing with a singular deep breath. With his mind drifting to last nights escapades with a certain blue-eyed beauty, Gohan sighed, falling into his dreams with a satisfied smile upon his lips.

 _"Gohan."_

 _He opened his eyes as the sound of his name reached his ears. He was lying in the middle of a beautiful meadow, feeling incredibly warm and at peace. He thought for a moment that he was on Earth, though the grass around him was yellow in colour, like fields of gold. The skies above him were a deep shade of violet, almost like The Sacred Realm of The Kais, and seemed to stretch for miles, a vast array of planets and stars surrounding the atmosphere._

 _He looked down at himself, realising that he was back in his divine attire, the light blue garb brushing against his skin._

 _"Gohan."_

 _The voice sounded again, causing him to look about the planes wildly. It sounded airy, distant, so much so that he couldn't tell to whom it belonged was male or female._

 _Deciding to explore just where in the HFIL he was, the young saiyan started forwards, only to feel a presence behind him. Whirling around, he smiled, as a familiar pair of sapphire eyes greeted him. Though she looked different - older somehow. Videl was wearing her hair down, and it seemed to have grown, now reaching past her waist in long elegant waves. She was dressed in a simple, silk white gown that didn't leave much to the imagination as it hugged her curves in all the right places, reaching just above her knees and exposing her toned legs. Her feet were bare, bristling through the long grass as she glided closer towards him._

 _She stared up at him with that hard, blazing look of hers before grabbing his cheeks in both of her hands and pulling him to her in a long, passionate kiss. Euphoria erupted in his stomach as he clutched the girl to him, his hands running all over her petite frame, enjoying the feeling of silk against his fingertips and becoming more than tempted to free her from the restrictive garment - it_ ** _was_** _his dream after all._

 _Then suddenly, to his disappointment, she pulled back, a deep aura of sadness and betrayal in her eyes._

 _She was crying._

 _Gohan frowned, his stomach lurching at the sight of hot tears running down her cheeks. He gulped, opening his mouth to ask her what was wrong when she cut him off with a whisper._

 _"Oh Gohan," she said, her eyes searching him, "what have you become?"_

 _Then suddenly there was fire._

 _Fire erupted all around him, scorching the earth he was stood upon and incinerating the golden fields at his feet. He gasped, reaching forwards to grab hold of Videl to whisk her to safety when she disintegrated into nothing but ash before his eyes._

 _"No…" the halfling faltered, as the sound of blood curdling screams echoed in his ears, pulling at his heartstrings and causing his eyes to widen in panic._

 _The violet sky, that seemed so peaceful moments ago, was now painted an alarming crimson, the stars and planets above him exploding one by one in a dazzling spectacle of blinding light and power. Raging winds spun around him as his brain practically screamed at his legs to move, sprinting amongst the burning embers on the search for an escape._

 _The ground shook violently from the aftershocks of the exploding planets, breaking apart at his feet. Gohan cried out, slipping on the edge of a crater that suddenly formed underneath him. He gritted his teeth, unable to bring his Ki to the surface and fly away. His limbs felt heavy, like lead as he clambered to his feet with difficultly, then set off running again._

 _What was going on? Who was causing such devastation?_

 _Laughter._

 _Cold, cruel laughter assaulted his eardrums relentlessly. He could depict it over the sound of screaming that still grabbed at his senses. He stopped short, as a shadow appeared before him, tall with glowing eyes, though the teenager could not make out the figure completely. The air surrounding it chasing away the dancing flames as an aura of dense, dark matter encompassed the pair of them._

 _"You did this," it told him, the voice thick with venom, "Some hero you are."_

 _Gohan's breath hitched in his throat, "W-what? I didn't, I'd never -"_

 ** _"HAKAI!"_**

 _He jumped at the sound of another voice, adolescent in nature yet all too familiar to him. Then, without warming, everything disappeared. The field, the fire, the exploding planets, the shadow - all shattering to nothingness in a cataclysm of exploding particles. Leaving him at the centre of a black void of emptiness, the sound of his own laughter - cruel and unyielding, ringing around him._

 _"Don't you remember, dear child?" the shadow voice asked._

 _"You're not a boy, you're a monster!" a deep, fearful shout erupted from somewhere in the distance._

 _His chest tightened considerably, the memory haunting._

 _"Gohan! End it NOW!" it was his father, calling out to him, "GET HIM GOHAN!"_

 _"He's just_ ** _toying_** _with him," Piccolo's aghast voice cut through him like a knife._

 _"Give up Cell," the eleven year old's sadistic snicker echoed in his ears, "Or fall."_

 _"No… no…," the young Destroyer stammered, looking for a way out of the darkness, drowning in horrific memory after horrific memory._

 _"You wanted to make Cell suffer for what he did, didn't you Gohan?" Whis' polite yet serious tone spouted, "I think that you would be the perfect candidate."_

 _Another voice, "You will never return."_

 _More gut-wrenching laughter surrounded him, sending shivers up and down his spine as a golden glow sprang up in the distance. The teenager hurtled towards it, feeling a sudden, familiar warmth emanating from the light. He hoped that it would take him back to the nice dream and away from this nightmare. He didn't want to relive his failures._

 _He suddenly felt as though he couldn't breathe, and realised all too late that something had sprung from the light and made to attack him, strong fingers wrapping around his throat and lifting him off his feet before he could even register what was happening._

 _Gohan's eyes locked with the emerald orbs that glinted with malice before him, his fingers clutching and clawing at the hand that held him in a vice grip, his mouth opening both in pain and horror as he realised just who was holding him._

 _"You," his father snarled, looking madder than he had ever seen him, a tattooed 'M' etched into his forehead underneath his super saiyan hair, "Just look what you've done!"_

 _His chest tightened painfully, he knew that symbol anywhere. He had seen it in old textbooks and scriptures when he had been studying ancient magic of the universe. It was a sign of dark sorcery. The sign of the Majin._

 _"D-Dad?!" he choked, tears springing into his eyes as he gasped for breath, "D-Dad I -"_

 _"Dad?" Goku scoffed disbelievingly, "You dare to call me your father after all you've done? You are no son of mine."_

 _With that the elder saiyan tossed him to the ground like a sack of potatoes, leaving Gohan struggling to regain his breathing. He didn't understand why he felt so drained, so weak! And what on earth was his father saying?!_

 _As if reading his thoughts, the Majin Goku rounded on the teenager once more, "You left us. And it was all for nothing. You destroyed everything."_

 _"I did it to protect you!" Gohan cried, his father's words burning painfully into his very soul, "To protect everyone! I-it wasn't supposed to be this way!"_

 _"Oh Gohan," the man chuckled darkly, an uncharacteristic smirk stretching over his lips as he faded back into the darkness, "How can you possibly protect when you have so much of the universe's blood on your hands?"_

 _"Dad! I'm sorry! I'm sorry Dad! Come back! What do you - ?" the halfling stared, when the sound of something dripping reached his ears._

 _He looked down at his hands, feeling a wetness on them all of a sudden. His eyes widened in sheer horror, as his hands were covered - no_ ** _drenched_** _with dark crimson blood. It splattered on the ground around him, running down his forearms and staining his ceremonial garb._

 _There was so much of it. It pooled around his feet, glimmering like a shining light within the dark void he found himself in. He felt sick, as the death defying screams echoed around him once more. He caught sight of his reflection in the pool of blood, though his features looked warped and twisted. Instead of reflecting the aghast expression he was currently wearing, the young man amongst the blood was smirking back at him._

 _Gohan growled, stamping out the reflection with his boot, sending droplets of blood flying. Though to his chargin, it stayed, a small chuckle emitting from the crooked depiction._

 _"You can't get rid of me that easily, Destroyer," it sang, an evil smile gracing its features as it suddenly warped into someone entirely different altogether._

 _Fear and trepidation gripped him all at once, as he suddenly found himself staring back at the statue of Perses, the very same one that he had found in the sacred garden of souls forgotten all those years ago. Although now it was very much alive, grinning madly at the young saiyan from the rapidly growing pool of blood, "For you see Son Gohan, you are not so different you and I."_

 _The Junior Destroyer couldn't help the scream that escaped his lips, as a waterfall of crimson blood fell from above him. It drenched him completely, filling his mouth and nose, rushing past his ears and escaping into his lungs so that it felt as though he was drowning._

 _More horrifically, it was freezing cold, and the terror-stricken shouts weren't helping in the slightest…_

 _"WAKE UP!"_

 _He knew that, but he couldn't. He was drowning for goodness sake!_

 _"YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP!"_

 _Help me…someone… Dad please…_

 _"BEERUS!"_

 _Huh? Why was somebody shouting Lord Beerus' name?_

 _Oh…_

Gohan jolted upright, his eyes snapping open as he attempted to control his breathing. His senses were raised in high alert, as he clutched a hand to his chest in order to steady himself, though soon realised that his t-shirt and the bedsheets surrounding him were soaking wet. As was his face and hair. He gulped, gasping for air as the ice-cold water dripped from his spikey fringe and onto his torso.

His stomach clenched, as he suddenly realised that Goten's bedroom was rather crowded, and the other occupants of the room were staring at the young saiyan with aghast expressions. Videl was closest to him, her beautiful eyes wide with worry, though she held a small smile of relief at the sight of him awake. His mother was standing next to her, her hands clasped together as she gazed solemnly at the young man. Goten and Trunks hovered above him, both with sheepish grins on their faces as they clutched an empty bucket in their hands.

Well, that explained why he was so wet at least.

Vegeta hung by the doorway, his arms folded across his chest and an unreadable look in his eyes, though he was frowning deeply.

"Beerus, are you alright?" his father was the first to speak, crouching down next to the bed.

"Y-yeah, I think so," he mustered, rather heavily, "S-sorry I think I must have had a nightmare or something."

The teen saiyan averted his eyes as the man continued to stare, his features marred with concern, and he suddenly felt like a child again under the man's penetrative stare, as if he was in trouble. Though Gohan was busy desperately trying to get the image of his mentally tortured father out of his head. What the hell was that dream all about anyway? He hadn't had a nightmare in _years_. Of course, he'd them when he had first started training on Lord Beerus' planet, mainly a reoccurring one of his father teleporting away with Cell before his eyes. It always resulted in a screaming and sweat soaked Gohan, though the night terrors had gone away with time.

He remembered confiding in Makhai the first time he'd had one of those bad dreams, the elder boy had been so worried about him that Gohan had ended up being forced to bunk in his bed for the rest of the night. That had led to an endless series of teasing from the other recruits, mainly because the young saiyan had become the 'little spoon to his big spoon' - Makhai's words, not his. Now _that_ alone was enough to give him nightmares.

Though he had appreciated his friend's concern, and subsequent shoulder to cry on. It was the first time that he had told anyone about how he'd died, the subject far too sore to discuss for the pre-teen at the time. Though Makhai had sat and listened, comforted him and kept it a secret until Gohan was ready to tell the others - which he did in time. And The Supreme Guard knew all about the guilt he harboured around the events of The Cell Games.

"It must have been one hell of a nightmare," said Goku, "None of us could wake you. You were tossing and turning really violently, I thought you were about to deck one of us!"

"Not to mention the fact that you were screaming bloody murder," Vegeta spouted from the door, giving him a look that said _We'll talk later_.

"Yeah we had to chuck water on you to wake you up," Trunks informed him, gesturing to the empty bucket.

"Sorry about that by the way," said Goten, "But it was the only thing that we thought would work!"

"Well, thanks," Gohan attempted a wry smile, "Thanks for waking me up."

He paused, feeling nervous as he realised that the small crowd were still staring at him with both pained yet sympathetic expressions. "Why are all looking at me like that?"

"Beerus," his mother tried lightly, "You were calling out for your father. Do… do you remember him?"

The young saiyan's eyes widened, had he really…?

"You don't have to answer," Chi-Chi cut across him, saving him from himself, "Whatever happened in your dream must have been horrific for you to react like that, and you don't owe it to any of us."

"Um, alright," he mustered, what could he tell them even? "I-I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you."

The ox-princess nodded, just as Goten and Trunks opened their mouths to protest, they obviously wanted to hear about some gory, horror story.

"That's perfectly fine," she said, "Now why don't you change out of those wet clothes and I'll make you some nice sweet tea? Come on everyone, out. Let's give Beerus some privacy."

To Gohan's relief they obeyed, though he couldn't help but notice the way his father's eyes lingered on him before he exited the bedroom. Looking out of the window, he noticed that the sky was bright blue and clear, the sunlight streaming in through the pane as the sun shone over the forest trees outside of Goten's room. He sighed heavily, his eyes locking with Videl's, who had ignored Chi-Chi's orders and instead moved closer to him, interlacing her fingers with his.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her eyes searching him.

"Yeah," he breathed, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze, "Like I said, just a nightmare."

"What did I tell you about bottling things up?" the girl scolded him lightly, causing him to smile.

"Yeah, I know," he said, telling her a white lie, "But it was silly. I don't remember most of it anyway. I'm probably just stressed about this whole Perses thing."

"Yeah I gathered that much," she replied with a small chuckle, before her features became a little more serious, "Your Ki went up a little though, you seemed really distressed."

The teenager swore under his breath, "Do you think anyone noticed?"

"I don't think so," said Videl, shaking her head, "I think Vegeta did but only because he knows who you are. Your Ki does feel weak most of the time, but I know now that's because you're suppressing it. It went up slightly, but not massively. But even still, it rose higher than an ordinary human with no training."

Gohan sighed, "Well that's annoying."

"Don't worry, I'm sure that between me and Vegeta we can throw your dad off the scent if he becomes suspicious."

"Thanks," he smiled, unbeknownst of how charming he looked, prompting Videl to lean forwards and kiss him on the lips.

She jerked back suddenly, pulling a face, "Blegh, I forgot you were wet."

Gohan snickered, before rising his energy ever so slightly, warming his skin and drying himself off, "There, problem solved."

"Show off -," Videl started, before she was forcibly cut off by the halfling capturing her lips with his in a deep, passionate kiss.

He grinned as he pulled back, rather proud of himself that he had left her flushing.

"Come on," he smiled, giving her another quick peck, "let's get downstairs before my mum sends the terror twins in here looking for us."

* * *

 **Orange Star City Police Station, Orange Star City - 3 Days Later**

Videl was having a bad day.

Working in the police force, bad days were abundant. Sometimes there were robberies that had gone wrong, nasty road traffic collisions, stabbings, shootings; investigations that would burn horrific pictures onto her brain and would take weeks, sometimes months to stop the memory from cropping up whenever she closed her eyes.

Though she shouldn't be complaining, today was certainly not one of _those_ bad days. Never the less, the young Satan girl was in a bad mood, as _nothing_ seemed to be going her way. From the moment she had accidentally spilled her coffee that morning and burned her hand because her alarm clock hadn't gone off and she was rushing around the flat, she knew that it was not going to be her day. Her boss was already miffed at her for spilling said coffee all over the reports that she had spent hours pouring over last night. _And_ she was twenty minutes late for briefing because she had tried to dry the damned papers out in a vain attempt to salvage them.

On top of that, she was delegated to traffic patrol that morning. Something which she absolutely _despised,_ and her fiery temper was more than enough to rival the worst cases of road rage - mainly because she was guilty of it herself. After a gruelling morning that had resulted in her giving out no less than ten tickets, one person even accusing her of police brutality because of how much she had screamed at them, she had decided to grab some lunch - which she had dropped on the floor after trying to stop a mugging. She was more than pissed that the mugger had escaped in the commotion that had ensued, as well as the fact that her sandwich had been squished by an cyclist. At least it didn't go to waste, as Bee was more than happy to lick it clean off of the pavement.

Oh, and a pigeon decided to take a dump on her cap whilst patrolling the city. Which was just fantastic.

So Videl didn't think that her day could get any worse as she decided to trudge back to the police station in search of a new hat. That was, until she entered the building and heard the buzz of excitement coming from the main office - mainly from the females of the team.

"He's so dreamy," one of the officers cooed, fanning herself with a report as she peered into the room that housed rows of desks belonging to each individual officer, "Have you _seen_ those muscles?"

"What's he even doing here?" another asked, giggling shamelessly.

"He said he was looking for a friend," a receptionist informed them, pulling down her uniform at the front to make it a little more revealing, "If he doesn't find her than I'll be his ' _friend'_ for the evening."

The women erupted into laughter as Videl reached them, her gaze averting to where they were pointing, her eyes suddenly widening in disbelief.

There, sat lounging in _her_ chair, with his feet casually resting on _her_ desk, was none other than the cause for such a stir. The culprit leaned back on the chair, titling it onto two legs as he twirled the name card that read ' _Police Constable Satan_ ' in between his fingertips, his gaze cast towards the ceiling in bored manner.

Did he even realise just how effortlessly drop dead gorgeous he was being? She wasn't entirely sure, as he seemed oblivious to the amount of female attention he was getting - and these vultures were practically circling him just ready to swoop in and make their move for goodness sake!

She almost laughed, as she took in the fact that he was wearing a thick leather motorcycle jacket complete with fringes and patches. He was also sporting chunky studded boots and sunglasses on his nose. He looked a little grubby, a smudge of dirt on his cheek and the jacket dusty with sand. Which wasn't too bad considering that he had told her that he was leaving to look for the last dragonball in the Southern deserts yesterday morning.

Finding out that her odd friend Beerus was in fact the saviour of Earth had been quite the shock, but the conundrum that was Son Gohan was more than enough to test her beyond her limits. The deceased teenager was everything that his friends and family had told her about and more, though with his age and obvious increase in power and divinity, it was clear that he had developed a cheeky and confident personality that seemed a stark contrast to the shy, dorky kid that she had heard so much about. Although at times she could see that side of him shine through just as brightly, and it had attracted her to him beyond what she thought was possible. Of course, as unlucky with love as she was, she just _had_ to develop an interest in someone who couldn't be with her for the sake of the universe.

Gohan was honourable, and it was obvious that he took his role seriously. A little _too_ seriously for her liking. The amount of times she had been left panting and frustrated because he had cut short yet another heated snogging session was too many to count. For a dead guy, the heat from his kisses were like an inferno, setting fire to her very soul, and Videl couldn't get enough of the feeling of his calloused hands roaming her curves underneath her shirt. But sadly, she had failed to get him to go any further. She had relented without complaint however, his wide onyx eyes and flushed cheeks as he stammered his apologies were just too cute to resist.

She knew that she shouldn't push it, it wouldn't do either of them any good seen as he couldn't stay. So, she let him retreat to sleep on the sofa like the _sodding_ gentleman that he was, reasoning that at least she wouldn't be tempted by him sleeping next to her - even though the mere suggestion might give the poor boy an aneurism. Though the feeling of his strong arms around her was just too good to resist for long, and it made her heart flutter and a warm feeling spread through her belly. Videl had never felt so _safe_ before, something that she didn't even know she wanted or even needed until they had shared their first kiss high above the Earth. And it had been _mind-blowing,_ both literally and figuratively.

Though there was definitely something troubling him. The way he would occasionally stare off into space with his jaw clenched and his eyes distant. No matter how much she tried to get him to open up, he wouldn't. He would brush her off with a charming smile and a kiss that would take her breath away and she would suddenly lose her train of thought. Tough that was more than enough to keep her suspicious of him. She knew that he was keeping something from her, but she didn't know just what it could be.

She knew that he was worried about this Perses, and being the hero that he was, he was obviously dwelling on his own incompetence to be able to do anything about the evil being escaping his prison. It was affecting him greater than she had realised, if his nightmare at Goku and Chi-Chi's was anything to go by after all, but she be damned if she could get anything out of him.

Videl wasn't stupid. She had already seen the lengths that the warriors of Earth were willing to go through to protect the universe. And now that she was one herself, the Satan girl was more than prepared for the possibility of a new threat. And as much as Gohan had told her that he didn't want to get the Z-Fighters involved, she couldn't help but think that it was only inevitable if the threat to the universe was that great.

She desperately wanted to tell Goku, and to warn the other Z-Fighters. But she felt loyal to Gohan, she didn't want to expose him. It was his choice alone to make, as much as it pained her to see him interact with his parents and little brother as his alias. She could see that it was hurting him too, which was why she had kept her mouth shut. Though, she had hoped that spending those few days with his family would have broken down a few of the walls he had put around his resolve, but alas, they had only made a crack.

Everyone had always told her just how much Gohan was like his father, and though that may have been true in terms of acts of heroism and bravery, she couldn't help but think that his friends had overlooked the influence his mother had on him. Because by Gods was that stubbornness _all_ Chi-Chi.

She couldn't help but wonder what his friends and family would think of him now. A strong hero of the universe, readying himself for battle once more - becoming a _God_ of all things. It was strange, she had thought that only the Kais existed, but from what the young saiyan had told her there seemed to be others whose sole purpose was to protect the balance of the universe, though he hadn't told her the name for such deities. She would have to ask him, that is, if she could remember to when her mind wasn't clouded by the exhilarating feeling of the boy's lips upon hers.

He was a charmer, that was a given. And it seemed that her female co-workers thought so too, as another outbreak of giggles erupted around her, _just_ because the teenager ran a hand through his hair and flashed them a charming smile. Videl sighed heavily, though she couldn't help but allow an amused a smile to spread over her lips as he caught her eye, taking the sunglasses off his nose and giving her a wave.

Damn it, what was so intense about his gaze that made her go weak at the knees and want to tear his clothes off with her teeth -

 _Woahhhhhhhh. Down Videl._ ** _Down_** _._

"What are you doing here?" she asked on her approach, folding her arms across her chest and giving him a pointed look. Ignoring her colleagues who broke out into excitable mutters.

"I thought I'd surprise you," Gohan grinned, leaning a back a little more so in her chair and gesturing to himself, "Surprise!"

"For someone who is trying to keep a low profile, you certainly aren't helping yourself," Videl scoffed, causing him to smirk as she swiped her name card out of his hands and placed it back neatly in its proper place.

"Oh come on, I'm not doing any harm," he told her, "Besides, the people you work with are _really_ friendly."

"I'm sure they have been," she glowered, feeling jealousy rise unexpectedly in her belly, "It's a wonder though, you look like a delinquent."

He let out a bark of laughter, as the girl continued, "Where on Kami's great Earth did you _find_ those awful clothes anyway?"

"Motorcycle gang," the young saiyan shrugged.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, " _What_ motorcycle gang?"

"Well, they called themselves 'Heaven's Devils'…"

"WHAT?!" Videl yelled, before dropping her voice to a hiss, "Gohan, that's a rebel motorcycle club! They're wanted for drug trafficking, rioting, looting and who knows what else!"

"Ah they weren't so bad," he stated indifferently, "I mean, I had a little trouble with them at first, but they took a liking to me after I beat their toughest member in an arm wrestling competition."

Videl face-palmed.

"I mean, they were nice enough to give me one of their jackets!" the halfling beamed excitedly, "Oh and this…"

She watched as he pulled the shiny orange orb out of his pocket and placed it proudly on her desk, three stars glinting up at her.

"It's the last one, all I need to do is wait to summon Shenron," he told her with a smile, before his lips contorted into a pout, "and what do you mean 'awful clothes'? I think I look really cool!"

"Yeah, you and the rest of the women in this place," she scorned, causing him to raise an eyebrow suggestively.

"Oh really?" he smirked, "You jealous?"

"Get off my desk," Videl growled, ignoring the question, "You're making a mess."

"But I'm bored!" he whined.

"Well go and bother Piccolo or Vegeta," she shot back, "I'm working."

"Fine, suit yourself," Gohan sighed, getting up from her seat and plucking the dragonball off of the desk, "I'd better go and drop this one off at The Lookout with the rest anyway."

Without warning, he leaned down and kissed her, cupping her jaw and letting his fingers run through her hair, sending a pleasant shiver down her spine. She heard her colleagues gasp in surprise around her, but in that moment she really didn't give a toss, as Gohan's tongue wickedly danced around hers and she nearly melted right into the floorboards.

"Get a room!" someone hollered jokingly, jolting them out of their bubble of bliss.

Breaking apart, he smiled whimsically at her, and she was certain that her cheeks was just as red as his were. She could have sworn that her heart had just skipped several beats at the besotted look on his handsome face. That, or she was having a heart attack. Though thankfully, she still managed to speak, attempting to keep her cool.

"I get off at three," she mustered breathlessly.

He grinned almost wickedly, a mischievous boyish glint in his eyes as he stepped back and patted Bee on the head. Her beloved labrador panted happily, his tail wagging furiously at the young man's touch.

"You know," he sighed longingly, "if I could summon the Eternal dragon right now, I'd stuff the prophecy and wish for time to go faster so that I can see you sooner."

Gods above, was he actually _trying_ to kill her?

He winked, kissing her forehead and leaving swiftly, calling back over his shoulder, "Oh and enjoy the doughnuts!"

Staring after the deceased teen with flushed cheeks, she frowned, doughnuts?

Looking down at her desk, she saw that the draw was slightly open, and pulling it back found a dozen of her favourite sugary snacks lying right there for the taking. Her eyes widened, did he really…? She couldn't believe that he had remembered.

She had only mentioned that her guilty food pleasure was vendor doughnuts a couple of days ago after Gohan had cut short another heated snogging session, briskly changing the subject and asking her what her favourite food was. In all honesty, her mind wasn't exactly on _food_ what with her shirt halfway over her head and the young man's belt hanging loosely open.

Though as she practically salivated at the still warm delicacy in front of her, the mouthwatering smell wafting towards her, she couldn't help but let the whole ordeal slide - momentarily of course.

"Woof!" Bee barked suddenly, eyeing up the sugary doughnut she held in her hand.

She smiled, offering the dog his fill before picking one for herself and biting into the fluffy confectionary. Videl closed her eyes in satisfaction, her taste buds practically signing, _Wonder boy, you are too much._

Alright, she thought, maybe it wasn't _such_ a bad day after all.

* * *

"Ladies," Gohan grinned, tipping his head to the gaggle of girls in the corridor, who had been eyeing him up ever since he had entered the police station and causing them to giggle and blush.

He knew that visiting Videl was probably a little daring of him given the fact that he was trying to remain hidden whilst on Earth, but he had been out hunting for the dragonballs since yesterday morning, and the fact of the matter was that he had missed her. He hadn't had too much trouble rounding up the rest of the dragonballs, and truth be told he had actually enjoyed it. Though it wasn't quite the same without company, and with Videl working and no one knowing who he was, he'd had to go it alone. He could have asked Vegeta or Piccolo to go with him, but the saiyan prince probably would have laughed in his face and Piccolo wouldn't have appreciated the adventure as much as the likes of Krillin or his father.

Though in a way he was glad of the solitude. He'd had a testing few days after all, especially what with staying with his parents at his former home in the mountains. Videl had been right in a way, he had been pleased that he had been able to see them, though the emotions he had experienced during his stay had been suffocating, and he was relieved when they had returned to Videl's apartment in Orange Star City. Granted, being around Videl had been more than enough to help him decide to spend a couple of days away to track down the dragonballs alone. He simply couldn't resist himself around the girl, and thus had struggled to control many teenaged fuelled urges that would be enough to make even Master Roshi blush.

It was his own stupid fault after all, he probably shouldn't have kissed the girl in the first place. But as he tried to find a reasoning for his actions, did he come up short. He wasn't a young teen experimenting with random girls and having a bit of fun on missions any more - no, he had fallen head over heels, which was even worse. There were rules imposed on divine beings for a reason, he knew that. Girlfriends were off limits according to Whis, but there were no rules to say that he couldn't have a little fun - he had already read up on that for um… research, a few years ago. Making his way through the city streets, the young saiyan sighed and shook his head. It wouldn't do well for him to think on it too much.

Despite his feelings for Videl, being back on Earth was a rather odd feeling. It was clear that so much had changed, especially with his family and friends. He was glad to see that they had moved on, happy for them even. Yet he couldn't seem to get rid of the small feeling of sadness in the back of his mind. It became even more prominent when he saw his family spending time together, playing video games, sharing meals, going on walks and sparring. The realisation that he didn't belong here anymore hitting him like a ton of bricks, on repeat.

Though at least he hadn't had any more nightmares. It was more than embarrassing, waking up like that with his entire family, Vegeta, Trunks and Videl gawking at him. He had almost given the game away, what with his Ki spiking momentarily. Though luckily nothing had come of it, and his father certainly hadn't figured out who he was, else he was certain that he would have already come to confront him by now.

Gohan wasn't sure what the dream was about, or even if it meant anything, though the look on the Perses statue had chilled him to the bone. When he was alive, he would have gone to Piccolo about such a vivid and cryptic nightmare. Though he didn't want to worry him, and had even given Vegeta a sordid excuse when he had tried to confront the teen later that evening about why he was screaming in his sleep. He reasoned that he should ask the Oracle Fish about it the next time Whis came to pick him up for a training session. He doubted it would be long anyway, the deity didn't want him to become rusty after all in his time on Earth.

Finding a secluded alleyway, the halfling made sure that no one was watching before he teleported away, appearing on The Lookout in an instant and causing the occupants of the sanctuary to jump in fright.

"Gohan!" Dende yelped, his wooden staff clattering to the floor, "You scared me! You're worse than Goku with that instant transmission of his!"

The teenager laughed, as Piccolo and Mister Popo breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of him, "Sorry Dende, I didn't mean to startle you. I just came up to deliver the dragonball."

"Excellent Gohan," said Mister Popo, smiling as the teen handed him the orange orb, "That's the last one. We can put it with the rest you've delivered for safe keeping before you can summon Shenron."

"Yeah," Gohan smiled back at the genie, who had recently been informed by the Namekians of his whole reasoning for being back on Earth, "Thanks Mister Popo. But I don't know what I'm going to do until then, there's still like three whole weeks to go."

"Well you seem to be integrating yourself back into Earth culture rather well," Piccolo snorted, now having relaxed out of his defensive stance and eyeing him up and down, "What the hell are you wearing now?"

"Aw not you too!" the teen scowled, "I think the jacket is cool."

"You know, for the first time I'm glad that you haven't been growing up on Earth, I dread to think what other monstrosities you'd assault everyones eyes with," his old mentor scoffed.

"Harsh, Mister Piccolo," Gohan pouted teasingly, causing the warrior to roll his eyes, "Anyway, you can talk. You're not exactly the pinnacle of style Mr-I've-Worn-The-Same-Clothes-Since-The-Dawn-Of-Time."

Piccolo gave him a pointed look, "You used to think my gi was cool, you even had one yourself."

"Yeah, when I was eleven and didn't know any better," he shot back, causing Dende to let out a snort of laughter, which was cut short by the glare his elder gave him.

"Funny," the Namekian observed, though he was smirking, "You seem to have gotten taller but you have yet to grow out of your cheek."

"Yeah but you loooooooove it," the young saiyan sang, before a obnoxiously loud beeping noise suddenly rang around them.

"What _is_ that?!" Piccolo growled, his ears twitching at the onslaught of sound.

"Sorry it's my communicator," Gohan explained, before said device materialised out of thin air, the intense bleeping cutting off abruptly as he tapped the glowing button that was now glowing red instead of its usual green. "Though I don't know why the emergency alarm is going off."

His face had grown a little pale, as the image of his current mentor appeared on the rounded screen, "Oh Gohan, glad to see you answered so swiftly!"

"What's going on? Has Perses escaped?" he asked hurriedly, causing the other occupants of The Lookout to gulp.

"Well, not exactly," Whis mustered, "But you must come home immediately. I'll be sending The Warp along in due haste."

"What's happening?" asked Piccolo as the transmission cut off, "And what's The Warp?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't sound good," the halfling admitted, anxiety bubbling in his stomach, though he tried not to let it show, "and as for The Warp, well, you'll see."

Though before the Namekian could reply, did the bright tunnel of light burst through the atmosphere, illuminating the marble tiles in a brilliant glow, engulfing the young Destroyer before he was hurtled back through space towards Lord Beerus' planet. Leaving a very dazzled Piccolo, Dende and Mister Popo behind.

* * *

 **Lord Beerus' Planet, A Far Away Dimension, The Living World**

"This sounds like trouble," Gohan stated, as he landed back on the grassy planes of the Destroyer's planet, directly in front of Whis and Lord Beerus, who had been waiting for him, "Care to fill me in?"

Lord Beerus huffed, as the teenager was slowly changed back into his Destroyer attire by Whis in a soft silver glow, "That depends on whether or not you have those treats you promised."

He rolled his eyes in distain, summoning two boxes of fluffy doughnuts he had kept for them, the Destroyer God harping on at him over his communicator yesterday that he'd better bring back some of Earth's delicacies for them to try the next time he saw them. It was lucky that he had remembered to get them some when he had brought doughnuts for Videl that morning - and even luckier that the girl had given him some money should he need it on his quest to find the dragonballs.

"Here, these are called doughnuts," he told them begrudgingly, offering them a box each.

"Doughnuts you say," the cat-like deity observed, sniffing one cautiously before picking it up, "Hmm they do smell rather sweet."

"Yes, they have a lot of sugar on them," said Whis, placing one to his lips, "You'd better make sure that you brush your teeth afterwards my Lord, we wouldn't want you getting a cavity."

Though it seemed that the God ignored him, popping a whole one in his mouth, the Angel following suit. There was a long pause as they chewed, swallowing the fluffy treat slowly, and then -

"OH MY GOODNESS ITS DIVINE!"

"SO SWEET AND SO MOREISH!"

"MY PALATE IS IN HEAVEN!"

Gohan sighed heavily, as they continued to fawn over the confectionary before them. "I thought you wanted me here for something other than food, I'm not some damned delivery boy."

"On the contrary," Whis chuckled, swallowing another mouthful, "Isn't that what the Earthlings called you when you went to fight Cell?"

"I'm not sure what's worse," Beerus snorted, licking his sugary fingers clean, "The names they call you or the fact that they've made your persona into a doll!"

"It's not a doll, it's an action figure," the teenager snarled, "For manly fighting games!"

"Whatever you say," the Destroyer cackled, "It's still a doll."

Gohan scowled, "Did you call me here _just_ to tease me?"

"Not at all," said his mentor, finishing off his last doughnut and focussing his eyes on the halfling with a serious expression, ignoring Lord Beerus' exclamation of 'No, you just brought that on yourself, brat!', "In fact, I summoned you back here for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I'd like to point out your relationship with the Earthling Videl Satan."

 _Oh crap! What did they see?! Have they been SPYING on me?!_ The teenager blanched, as his superiors eyes narrowed at him, "Er… w-what do you know?"

"Enough to warn you, boy," Lord Beerus frowned, his tail flicking around behind him in agitation, the blush marring the halfling's cheeks only confirming his suspicions, "You are playing a dangerous game."

"I-It's nothing," he stated, trying to keep his voice steady as he started to explain himself, "I was just -"

"Does she know what you are?" asked Whis, his stare penetrating, causing the halfling to gulp.

"No, well, not exactly," he replied, averting his gaze and finding his boots very interesting all of a sudden, "She doesn't know that I'm a Destroyer, and I don't plan on telling her either."

The Angel paused, prompting the teen to look up as he spoke, "You know the rules Gohan, you have a duty to uphold."

"I-I know," the young saiyan breathed, staring right back, "I gave you my word Whis. I'm well aware of what I've sacrificed to hold it. Just… just let me have this little piece of happiness whilst I still can, okay?"

His mentor observed him for a moment, though nodded curtly, "Very well, I trust your judgement. But do be careful my boy."

Beerus snorted, "The universe needs you now more than ever, it won't do it or you well to be pining over some mortal."

"I understand," he said, letting out a sigh of relief before looking back at him, "So what else did you need me here for?"

"Ah yes," said Whis, "You see, the universe is in a current state of emergency."

"W-what?! Why didn't you say anything earlier?!" he gaped, adrenaline rushing to the surface, though his mentor caught on immediately.

"Don't worry yourself just yet Gohan, The Supreme Guard currently have the situation under control," he informed him, "Though I'm afraid this is only a pretence for what is about to come."

"I don't understand," the halfling started, "you said it's not Perses, but the entire universe is in a state of _emergency_?! What else could - "

"Dark creatures have started to appear all over the cosmos," the Angel said gravely, "Though thankfully due to The Guard, they have been stopped from causing too much destruction that would impede on the balance of the universe."

"But where did they even come from?" Gohan asked, though he dreaded the answer, it was all too convenient in his opinion.

He watched carefully, as Whis and Lord Beerus shared a look, before his mentor spoke, "We believe they are coming from The Void."

"What?!" he gasped, his jaw dropping to the floor, "But how is that even possible? I thought you said that it was virtually impossible for anything to live in that realm? Now you're telling me that there's a load of monsters that we've got to worry about too?"

"Don't be ridiculous, nothing can truly live in The Void," Lord Beerus snorted, though he looked anything but calm about the situation, "Perses is half Kai, remember?"

"You're saying he's _created_ them?!"

"He created that monstrosity that was Majin Buu all those years ago didn't he?" he snarled, "What's stopping him from making more dark entities?"

The young Destroyer swallowed thickly, "But if he's managing to actually release them form The Void then that means - "

"That it is only a matter of time before the seal is broken and Perses is free," Whis finished for him, a solemn expression upon his delicate features.

"But can't anyone stop it?" Gohan protested, "You sealed him away before, can't it be done again?!"

"With the amount of dark creatures he has at his disposal, it would be suicidal to go anywhere near that realm without a clear plan," said Lord Beerus, eyeing him pointedly, "As much as you want to, there is no point in charging in there unprepared."

He gritted his teeth in anger, his fists clenching tightly, "We need to figure out where he is drawing his power from. If we cut off the source then there's no way he could keep creating and releasing these monsters, much less escape."

"Precisely Gohan," said Whis, "Though during your absence, we think we may have a hunch as to the source. If we are correct in our assumptions, I'm afraid that we are in a tighter spot than I had realised."

"What, really?" the teenager quirked, "What do you think it is?"

The Angel sighed, "Gohan, do you remember your sparring session with Lord Beerus a few days ago? And how you managed to land quite a substantial hit on him?"

"Well yeah," he replied, though a little confused, "But what does that have to do with - ?"

His onyx eyes suddenly widened in realisation, staring at the deities in disbelief. _Oh_ …

"You're saying that Perses is draining Lord Beerus' energy to make himself _stronger_?!" he practically yelped. "But how?! And here was me thinking that I was getting better and Lord Beerus was just getting old!"

The God in question snarled at his words, though Whis interjected before he could blast the teenager into oblivion, "We believe so. Though we are unsure as to how. Lord Beerus has been taking naps more often recently, even before you died Gohan, which made me think that his life cycle was ending sooner. This may not be the case, and in fact the cause for Lord Beerus becoming weaker and sleepier was actually due to Perses draining his power for the last century or so."

Gohan swore loudly, though this time his mentor didn't scold him for it. He looked at his predecessor, this was so much worse than he thought.

"Don't give me that sympathetic look boy," Beerus glowered, folding his arms across his chest haughtily, "I'm not going anywhere just yet, and don't plan to either. Perses will pay for ever crossing me, but like I said we need to formulate a plan, and figure out how he has managed to drain my power in the first place."

He nodded obediently, averting his eyes. He prayed that it wasn't true. If Perses drained all of Lord Beerus power to a dangerous point, he could die, and due to their life-link, The Supreme Kai would too. Leaving him the only 'God' in universe seven as well as Kibito who was only an assistant, and him a junior. They wouldn't last against Perses from what Whis had told him, and it would cause utter chaos, the universe would collapse in on itself for certain.

What in the HFIL were they going to do?

"Whis, can you get me to The Supreme Guard?" he asked suddenly, prompting his mentor to give him a small smile, "The best thing I can do right now is help them fight and destroy these monsters. It's not like things can get any worse."

"Very well," said Whis with a chuckle, gazing into the gem on his sceptre, "I should have known that you would want to help. Now where - ?"

He was cut off suddenly, by the gem flashing rapidly in alarm, "Oh my!"

"What is it?" Lord Beerus growled, as both Destroyers looked towards the Angel, their senses on high alert should something suddenly attack them.

"Well, it seems as though one of the dark creatures has appeared far away from where The Supreme Guard are fighting, and begun a rather destructive attack," he informed them, his eyebrows knitting together in thought, "That's odd, I wonder why it has chosen Earth."

"EARTH?!" Gohan yelped, the horror crawling up his throat and lodging there, "Are you freaking serious?!"

"Why yes, and it seems that it is a rather beastly creature at that, stronger than the rest that have escaped The Void thus far," said the Angel, "It has already destroyed half of the main city of the Western province, and is giving your father and his friends quite a run for their money."

The young saiyan didn't hesitate, fear and panic gripping him all at once, "Get me back to Earth Whis, NOW!"

"But your clothes," he said, observing the Junior Destroyer's ceremonial garb, "Your family are bound to notice, though I suppose it will take me about a minute to - "

"I don't care!" he cried, all sense of logic flying out of the window. He no longer cared if they recognised him, he needed to save them, _now_ , "There won't be any reason to hide who I am if they're all dead! Now hurry up and fire up The Warp!"

"Well there's no need to be rude," Whis puffed, "Are you quite sure you know what you're doing?"

" _WHIS!"_

"Very well," his mentor shrugged, before the bright white light engulfed him and he disappeared from Beerus' world.

* * *

 **West City, Planet Earth.**

Chaos. Pandemonium. Disorder. Terror.

It was a sight that had greeted Son Goku on so many occasions. Too many in fact. The familiar sound of terrified screams echoed in his ears as the petrified citizens of West City fled the epicentre of the battle. He had realised not long into the fight that there was no use in attempting to divert the battle somewhere safer and away from the city. Their enemy was seemingly non-negotiable, and was hell bent on destroying everything in its wake with mindless enthusiasm.

The full-bloodied saiyan had never seen anything like it. It was like something dreamt up in a nightmare, but unfortunately was all too real. It was a gigantic beast, even bigger than an adult Oozaru by his estimation, with large razor sharp talons and teeth. It sort of looked like a mutated, overpowered dragon in his opinion, judging by the enormous wings on its back and sharp, twisted horns on its head. The monster towered high over West City, its hard scaled skin shining in the setting sun, the blood red sky intermingled with dust clouds from the fires that waged throughout the city - mostly caused by the inferno that it had released from his colossal jaws.

The rampaging beast roared again, shaking the ground below them as it thrashed its long tail, causing even more devastation to the buildings surrounding it. Numerous skyscrapers had crumbled into nothing but rubble, lower buildings were completely decimated. Glass and debris littered the cracked pavement, abandoned cars and other larger vehicles had been crushed and some sunken into the deep crevices that had appeared when the roads had split and shook apart.

The Z-Fighters had been quick onto the scene, feeling the warped, evil Ki of the monster suddenly appear in the West. It was odd, they hadn't even felt its approach. Goku had no idea where on earth it had sprung from so unexpectedly, though there was no time to dwell on the matter, as he quickly realised that the fight wasn't going to be an easy one. They were hot on its tail, still trying their best to lure the beast out of the city centre. Flashes of multi-colour lit up the dark sky, as their powerful attacks surged towards the gigantic fiend once more. Yet the monster was wild, vexed, and batted them away as if they were nothing.

Goku growled, the long golden hair of his super saiyan three form blowing back in the heavy gust of wind that swept the streets from the aftermath of their attack. Vegeta landed next to him, his own wild hair of the third state whipping around him as he spit out a wad of blood and saliva onto the cracked pavement in distaste.

"Damn it," he snarled bitterly, "What's it going to take to beat this thing?"

He didn't reply, glaring up at the monster with equal animosity. The earth-raised saiyan had never been one to back down from a fight, even if engaging in battle with an enemy seemed hopeless. He reasoned that it was his saiyan heritage that attributed to that particular trait, Vegeta had it too - even their boys. They hadn't fought an enemy since Majin Buu, and this particular fiend was actually proving to be just as troublesome. Even though its stature was large and bulky, it seemed to have no effect on its speed and theprecision of its attacks.

He had to admit that at first, the thought of fighting a powerful enemy got his blood pumping with excitement. Especially with the rest of the Z-Fighters fighting by his side once more. Though the thrill of comradery had soon wore thin, as the terrifying power of this dark creature seemed to increase with each passing moment, subsequently making them work a lot harder in order to defeat it.

He had flown into battle with no time to waste, leaving Goten at Capsule Corp. with Bulma, Trunks and Marron. The three kids were more than willing to join in the fray, even little Marron - she had been training a lot with her mother and father recently. Even so, despite the girl's increase in strength and Goten and Trunks' super saiyan status, he wouldn't allow it. The boys had done amazingly well against Majin Buu a year ago, but that was in exceptional circumstances. He would only get the little super saiyans involved if absolutely necessary - Goku would not have the blood of another child on his hands. Luckily Vegeta had agreed with him, and the boys had soon stopped protesting when the prince had successfully glared them out.

Another bone-quaking roar escaped the beasts throat, and the Z-Fighters had no choice but to shield their eyes with their arms, as a vibrant crimson blast erupted from its jaws, colliding with a nearby tower block and sending bricks and debris flying into the air, continuing its onslaught of the city. As the light cleared, an abrupt shout echoed from above, and Goku's eyes widened at the sight of his student delivering a Kiao-ken fuelled spinning kick to the beast's side, indenting its sales in a sickening blow. She was dressed in her police uniform, having ditched work to join the battle, her cap discarded and her raven hair whipping wildly around her in the raging winds she had created with her aura.

"Take that, ugly!" Videl cried, unleashing rapid fire from her palms, the golden blasts illuminating the city as the monster fell to one knee.

Krillin chuckled from beside him, his orange gi in tatters, "She's really something that student of yours!"

Goku couldn't help but silently agree, a sense of pride filling his chest as he kicked off from the ground to help her, "Let's go!"

Though before he could get close, the monsters tail thrashed madly, causing him to dodge swiftly out of its destructive path.

"VIDEL! LOOK OUT!" He roared, watching in horror as the end of its tail wrapped tightly around the girl, squeezing her so much so that she screamed out in agony.

"Oh no you don't! DESTRUCTO DISK!" Krillin yelled, the electric buzz of the golden disk whirring through the air before it sliced through the tail, releasing its deadly grip on Videl.

"Nice shot!" Yamcha called out, hovering above them before hurtling to the beast once more, joining Tien and Eighteen in their onslaught, ignoring the beasts guttural roar of anguish, the end of its tail hitting the ground with an enormous thud.

Goku let out a sigh of relief as Piccolo swiftly caught Videl before she hit the ground.

"You alright, kid?" the Namekian asked, concern flashing within his dark eyes.

"Y-yeah," she wheezed, lowering her voice to a whisper, "Where the hell is he?"

Goku frowned, who was she talking about? Though he didn't hear Piccolo's reply, as he was suddenly too concerned by the enormous swell of energy that erupted from their malicious foe. The explosive wave knocked Yamcha and the others backwards a few feet, though they were shocked by the monsters sudden increase in power also. The energy was crippling, utterly jaw-dropping, he would even argue that it was enough to rival Majin Buu's at full power - it seemed as though the others noticed this too.

"Fuck!" Vegeta snarled, his fellow super saiyan three joining him in the air, "Where the hell is all that power coming from?!"

"I don't know," Piccolo called over, a deep frown marring his features, "But we have to stop it before it gains anymore, otherwise the whole Earth's in danger."

"Then we'll just have to give it everything we've got!" Videl said boldly, her crimson aura bursting around her frame once more.

"For once I agree with the harpy," Vegeta said gruffly, causing the girl to smirk back at him, "Let's show this overgrown insect just what happens when you mess with Earth."

"Full power!" Goku bellowed, bolts of electricity darting around his frame as he charged up even further, the height of the super saiyan three form coursing through his veins as he propelled himself towards the awaiting beast, "CHARGE!"

The saiyan prince sighed heavily, "I refuse to fight to that order."

"Tch, stop whining," Piccolo griped, before launching into battle with the rest of Earth's protectors.

"Right behind you!" Tien roared, launching a well aimed blast towards the mutated dragon. It exploded on impact, but appeared not to have done any damage.

Eighteen followed suit, her palms outstretched as she unleashed her own rapid fire, dust and smoke circling about the monster's frame, the resounding clash causing even more cracks to form in the earth below their feet.

Goku took his chance, locking onto the evil energy through the smoke. In an instant, he was behind the brute, delivering a sharp elbow strike to the back of its neck whilst Vegeta sucker punched it in the gut. Sonic booms echoed around them as the beast curled inwards from the gut-wrenching blows. Though, to their surprise and horror, it quickly recovered, blowing both super saiyan three's away with a sharp gust of explosive energy, before it rounded on him - eyes glinting with murderous intent.

"MASENKO-HAAAA!" Piccolo's cry bellowed in the distance, the bright yellow blast careening towards the beast and hitting it square in the eyes.

It roared and howled in agony, one eye completely blinded by the Namekian's attack, bleeding profusely. Though their little victory was short lived, as a fast fist knocked both warriors out of the air - they didn't even see it coming! Goku growled, his back painfully hitting a slab of concrete as he was forcibly backhanded into a large piece of fallen brickwork, which crumbled to an even bigger heap as he landed.

This was not going well.

The battle - if one could call it such - had now turned into a free for all brawl. As soon as one Z-Fighter was backhanded across the city, then another would be upon the monster in an instant, but all they seemed to be doing was angering the creature even further. It was like the beast was a fly swatter and they were the annoying pesky flies, buzzing and swooping around it and firing hits where they could.

He and Vegeta had been having better luck as super saiyan three's. However, as much as it was a powerful transformation, it was the quickest when it came to draining energy and stamina. He wasn't entirely sure just how long they could keep it up for. It was utterly exhausting. The only warrior not suffering as much as the others was Eighteen, due to her enhanced stamina and unlimited energy as an android. But it wasn't much solace, she was severely bruised and blooded, though continued her onslaught regardless, firing another white hot blast towards the monster's face.

Distracted by the others, the ball of energy hit its enormous jaw. Although unharmed, the monster screamed with fury, once again blasting the Z-Fighters away with another explosive wave of Ki. Goku looked around worriedly, his emerald eyes finding both Piccolo and Vegeta wincing in pain on the ground, their bodies smouldering and burnt from effects of the hot Ki. Damn it, they couldn't go down so soon! They needed the power!

Yet this beast wasn't even phased by two super saiyan three's…

He quickly got to his feet, powering his golden aura around him once more before kicking off from the ground and rushing towards the enemy. Though Goku didn't have time to contemplate just how or when it had happened, when the beasts irate shrieks filled the air and he was met with a ginormous fist to the face. He cried out in agony, as he felt his cheek bone shatter, a sonic boom ricocheting over the city from the impact as he was knocked to the ground once more, debris and rocks flying high into the air. He coughed, spitting out the blood and saliva that had rapidly built up in his mouth as he looked above him.

The monster was on an absolute rampage, reaching Piccolo and Videl almost instantly and causing another ear-shattering boom to shake the entire area. The saiyan made out the rapidly falling form of his friend and student before they hit the ground in the same manner as he. Vegeta and the others shot up to meet the beast almost instantly, encircling it in order to slow it down and stop it from desolating the rest of the city. But their attempts were in vain, as it unleashed yet another wave of monstrous Ki and whacked them out of the sky with its flailing limbs.

One by one, the Z-Fighters tumbled to the ground, the impact of the creatures hits rendering them useless and practically unconscious.

"NO!" Goku cried, intercepting an gigantic crimson blast that burst from the monsters jaw, batting it away from his fallen comrades and sending it hurtling into the air instead, where it exploded in a brilliant spectacle of blinding light.

He gripped his arm in agony, hissing at the sight of the bubbling flesh of his forearm. Shit, that was _way_ too close.

"Kakarot, y-you idiot," Vegeta spat breathlessly, clambering to his feet and slipping into stance beside him, "You nearly lost yourself an arm, how the hell would that help us in this situation?"

"W-well," he smiled grimly through the pain, "A-at least you lot aren't toast!"

"Literally speaking," the prince said, glaring up at the skies that were steadily growing darker, sharp bolts of lighting now emitting from the clouds that rolled with thunder, "Any ideas?"

Goku shook his head, "I-I don't know h-how long I can keep this u-up, my energy is draining q-quickly."

"Hn, the great Kakarot so easily beaten," he retorted, though he couldn't help but notice how the man's eyes looked haunted as he spoke. He too knew the reality of what was about to come.

"Goku," came a gruff voice from behind them, it was Piccolo, just as bloodied and battered as the rest of them, "We have to hold this thing off, no matter what."

He nodded, but couldn't help but frown at his choice of words. Hold it off? For what? What was Piccolo waiting for?

Though he didn't get a chance to ask, as the Namekian kicked off from the ground, charging his attack as he went. Goku and Vegeta followed suit, appearing before the dreaded beast, ready to give it all that they had.

"Ka…. meh…. ha…meh….HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He roared, the brilliant blue energy of the super Kamehameha Wave erupting from his cupped palms and careening towards the rampaging beast. He poured everything he had into the blast, his senses tingling as he felt the rest of the haggard Z-Fighters joining him in his attack.

"SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!"

"FINAL FLASH!"

"TRI-BEAM HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"SPIRIT BALL!"

"KAMEHAMEHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Videl, Krillin and Eighteen bellowed, bringing up the rear .

The entire planet shook from the sheer force of the Z-Fighters combined attack, torrents of wind picked up around them like a hurricane, as the monsters raging roars began to dwindle. Hope rose in Goku's heart as the blinding sphere of deadly energy grew larger and larger, totally disabling the humongous beast. A world-eclipsing explosion sounded, knocking the warriors back a few feet. Thick black smoke clouds encircled them, encompassing the entire city, as the light from their attack dwindled. The monsters power undetectable.

Goku panted, as he heard Yamcha muster a weak, "I-Is it over?"

But no sooner did the ex-bandit utter the words, did a spark of evil energy illuminate their senses.

"I-it can't be!" Videl gasped.

Then all at once, there was mass hysteria. The silhouette of the enormous creature suddenly burst through the dust filled clouds, its body significantly damaged but still very much intact. Its unhindered energy assaulted their senses, followed by the terrifying roar of fury that they had grown all too accustomed to.

Shouts of desperation and horror echoed around him, as one by one the Z-Fighters were picked apart, their crumpled forms hitting the ground in rapid succession. Goku growled in frustration, unable to keep ahold of his energy draining transformation any longer and dropping back to his base form, the monster making quick work of him too. He was struck in the skull so hard that his ear drums perforated, and he met the dirt in the same manner as his friends.

"BASTARD!" Vegeta cried out, his fist careening towards the beast with impressive speed, though his transformation wavered too, dropping out of it completely as his body was knocked flying by their foes attack.

Goku's heart pounded rapidly in his ears, he felt as though the organ was about to burst out of his chest. It was no use, they were all too injured, out of energy. It was only a matter of time before this monster destroyed them all. He cringed, as the saiyan prince landed harshly next to him, coughing up a wad of blood and shoving his hand away as he attempted to help him to sit up before he choked.

"What the fuck was that Kakarot?!" he snarled, blood dripping down his chin, his obsidian eyes hardened as he glared at the dragon creature making its way over to the fallen Z-Fighters.

The ground shook violently with each step it took, and Goku could only watch with horror as it began to build a deadly crimson blast within the depths of its throat, the harsh light invading through its teeth. If it unleashed that, they wouldn't survive.

Goku swore under his breath, "I haven't got enough energy to transform again!"

"Shit, me neither," the prince spat, clenching his fists as he tried to pick himself up from the small crater that he had landed in.

The younger saiyan was about to reply, when a furious growl escaped the monsters chest. He looked up bitterly, attempting to get to his feet once more but failed just like Vegeta. His ribs were broken, and they burned in pain as he looked towards his fallen friends once more. The hope he had held moments earlier diminished in an instant. He had never felt so useless, not since - Goku closed his eyes, it wouldn't do well for him to dwell on The Cell Games right now. It wouldn't help the situation either. He was unable to gather enough Ki to stop the impending blast - if any, forcing his body to sustain the super saiyan three form for longer than usual had drained the very last of his energy, especially given the fact that he had unleashed a Super Kamehameha too. He was completely spent.

"No, not like this," Vegeta growled, scrunching up his eyes in frustration and despair, the crimson light casting shadows over their crumpled and defeated forms.

Damn it! This _couldn't_ be it! Not after everything they had gone through together over the years! Every challenge, every evil doer… they had always found a way! He couldn't let some monster destroy them! Destroy everything!

The desolate streets glowed with fire around him, and Goku could feel his skin begin to burn from the sheer heat of the blast that was about to be released, his heart pounding relentlessly against his ribcage.

He swallowed, it was futile.

 _Chi-Chi, Goten, everyone… I'm so sorry._

But no sooner did the thought enter his mind, did a flaming torrent of white light burst through the atmosphere, speeding towards them before surging to a halt right in between the fallen Z-Fighters and the vile beast. The light was blinding, all consuming, causing the warriors of Earth to wince at the sheer brightness, when it suddenly began to dwindle.

At first, Goku wondered if his eyes were deceiving him in light of his impending doom, as the tunnel of light disappeared and in its place stood a young man. He was dressed in a long, light blue ceremonial garb with golden piping around the edges. It flapped in the breeze that he had just created, the front of the cloak completely open at the front, exposing his strong muscular torso that had several deep scars running over his heart - almost like he had been scratched by a very large feline. He wore white gi pants, the pristine fabric adorned by a black sash that had blue and gold diamonds embroiled into the fabric that hung between his legs.

His feet were grounded by sturdy white fighting boots, and solid gold wristbands adorned his forearms, glinting as they reflected the raging embers around him. His long, unruly black hair bristled in the wind, framing his stern yet handsome face. His was tall, at least six foot by his reckoning, and his muscular arms were further exposed by his sleeveless garb. He had to be in his late teens or early twenties, though his dark eyes looked older, full of experience and hatred as he positively glared at the gigantic beast with an unyielding fire within their depths.

It was a fire that he had seen on countless occasions. One that was all too familiar to him.

The Z-Fighters blinked in utter disbelief, as the monster's blast suddenly extinguished at the sight of the strange young man standing before it. Though Goku's eyes were no longer fixated on the enemy - but on the boy. It was as though he had been hit with another punch to the gut, the realisation expelling all the air from his lungs, as he noticed how the boy held a striking resemblance to Videl's new friend Beerus. And through the confusion and awe, the earth-raised saiyan berated himself for not making the connection sooner.

It _couldn't_ be. But it was.

But why? Why did he want to hide his true identity from them? From _him_? So many questions barrelled through his mind, too many emotions to consider. But as his gaze traveled to the shining golden halo above the young man's head, confirming his suspicions, he could have sworn that his heart had stopped.

"G-Gohan?" he managed to muster in amazement and shock from where he was splayed out on the ground.

He could feel the eyes of his fallen comrades burning into him - he must have sounded completely crazy. Like the majority of them, he had given up the hope that he would ever see his son again. The little boy who had grown eons stronger than him, but had died all the same. Goku had never meant for Gohan to die - quite the opposite actually. He was supposed to take up the mantle of hero, eventually replacing him as the unofficial 'leader' of the Z-Fighters when he became old enough to bare the responsibility.

But it had all gone so wrong.

He had found himself asking the same question over and over again in his mind. What was the point of his son gaining such great power if he had died anyway? He had eventually come to accept the words of the Eternal Dragon, and prepare himself for an eternity without Gohan. The young boy could not be found, not even by Porunga or The Supreme Kai, so what hope did he have? It shattered his heart to pieces when he realised that he could never be reunited with the bright, inquisitive, powerful bundle of love that was his son again. Nightmares of Gohan falling and falling, alone in an endless abyss had plagued his dreams for years. He had been haunted by thoughts of the boy swamped by darkness, freezing cold and starving, and wondering why his mother and father hadn't wished him back from death's cruel clutches. Thinking that perhaps, they didn't want him anymore.

As he stared at the cloaked figure in front of him, it was a far cry from the picture he'd had of the child. For this person was not a frightened boy, no, this was a man - a _warrior_. It would make sense after all, the familiar energy that he had felt days ago emitting from Beerus in the midst of his nightmare certainly matched. It was only a spark, a fleeting moment, but he had felt it all the same. He'd brushed it off at the time of course, thinking that it had been his mind playing painful tricks on him.

He could feel it now though. An immense presence practically oozing from the boy in front of them. It was familiar, but still incredibly different to how he had remembered. It struck him with a strange sense of foreboding, though he couldn't reason as to why. That and he felt it intermingled with a kind of _pressure,_ as if his very Ki had just slammed onto his senses all at once. Though it was strangely calm, quiet, not the usual torrent of fury bubbling underneath the surface, just waiting to be unleashed.

But was this teenager, this _man_ really him?

And just like that, their saviour turned at the sound of his voice, and onyx eyes - that were _so much_ like his Chi-Chi's, locked with his own as he gave him a sad yet knowing smile.

"Hi Dad."

* * *

 _14th January, 2019._

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 _A/N: I know I am SOOOOO cruel for ending it there! But what a cliffhanger! Gohan is revealed! Yay! So much drama! I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter and the dramatic fashion in which Gohan appeared in fully fledged uniform and everthing. And kudos to who got Piccolo's Saiyaman reference ;) Just had to drop it in there! I am working a lot this week so the next chapter may be a week or two away but I will try to get it out to you all asap. I am so excited for the next part and to showcase our boy kicking some ass! woop woop :) thank you for your continued support! ES x_

* * *

 **Reviews:**

Zeromaru Chaos Mode: glad you like the gohan and videl dynamic. and I totally agree Goku does always still the win. He will get time to shine in this fic, but it will mainly be focussed on Gohan still!

MadmanJrs: I am so glad youre enjoying the story and the relationships that Gohan has with the other characters! Im so happy that I am getting him across just right!

Readallday1243: i imagine Gohan's hair a mixture between the mass of spikes he has at the cell games with his pony tail he has as a kid.

TheRangerBoy: thank you!

sitrukpc: Videl is a mortal and nowhere near as powerful as Gohan. therefore I dont see them just making her a divine being just as a reward for Gohan IF he does manage to stop perses that is ;) and that is also considering Videl's feelings on this. would she want to leave her friends and family? Gohan is struggling hard enough as it is.

Rei-El Dreemurr: ooooh interesting ;) all will be revealed!

Aaron Leach: thank you!

FireEmblemMaster101 : thanks for the big review! The supreme guard will make for some good dynamics and also a bit of Gohan torture which is always great in fanfiction. haha. I'm looking forward to them coming back! As a point of Babidi going after both Goku and Vegeta to make them Majin, thats a good observation and could have happened, perhaps if Babidi was a bit smarter but also I will be exploring Vegetas character a bit more and the effect that Gohans death had on him. I like to think that Goku completely reverted inwards and attacked himself, and Vegeta kind of stepped up both out of duty and of need for the z fighters. He has changed a lot, and even broke up a fight between Piccolo and Goku some years ago in this story, stating that Gohan wouldnt want them fighting - showing a little more care than perhaps he would have in the original. This could have affected his motives also, as Goku would have been around for him to fight all the time, and have a more friendly rivalry that we see in super rather than im going to kill you vibes. Youve also made really good points about the upcoming plot, but I dont want to spoil anything!

Guest: breaking the rules for Gohan may not be an option, the rules are very strict over divine beings and their relationships with mortals.

x2leoj : thank you! he certainly does need more power against Perses!

RedDragonforce 1: thanks for the review, and narration once again! I love your theory about the Son family finding the dragonballs when they need to, its really lovely and I'll just leave it out there for people to decide! I agree Gohan is too book smart in the original to master ultra instinct, though my Gohan needs balance because he uses both aspects of overthinking and under thinking when it actually matters - although we did see this as a kid! I will check out your fanfiction most certainly!

Crodog12: thanks for your review! I wish I could reveal more but I cant im sorry! :P also I hope you enjoyed this dramatic reveal. I was going to go with adding up clues etc but I thought that this was a bit more shocking and funner to read! and there is also a possiblity for multiple SSG... if the story flows that way ;)

HeartlessAlpha: thanks for your review! I appreciate it! I was planning on moving everything swiftly forwards after the big kiss, as like you say I didnt want it to drag, but I needed the build up there for readers to fall in love with the pairing. Hope this chapter didnt disappoint!

Dan2019: **spills beans dramatically**

X3runner: thank you! I do enjoy slow burn romance but for this plot I need Gohan and Videls relationship fast and furious for it to work. Glad you like it though! As for Toppo, I get that it doesnt technically fit within my rules as he is still alive as a junior destroyer and owns a house etc. This may be different for universe 11 as he is in the pride troopers. However, as this story moves forwards more will be revealed about the rules for universe 7 and others, as well as more insight on what it means to be a junior destroyer. hopefully, eventually itll make sense!

Marbbles123 : Ooh thank you so much! ah yes I have heard of that fanfic actually, read it years ago but totally forgot there was a Majin Goku in it!

PhoenixFire100: thanks for your review! glad you are enjoying it! Ive hinted at SSG so much that it would be severly evil of me NOT to do it, but I cant reveal just how itll be achieved. as you can see, I just knocked over the can of beans... :O

VaultBxy : this made me laugh so hard! Exactly the reaction I was going for!

Leafeon12" Hes not in toooooo much trouble. YET.

REQUIEMCROSS: aha yes oh dear!

Knightwing20042: I have the whole story pretty much planned out, adding in bits here and there and swapping and changing. I have been on holiday the last week from work so things have come out a bit swifter. But back to the grind this week so may be a little slower! I literally just shit with my headphones on and loads of coffee and just write and write and write. If im in the flow the words just keep going!

Reacted : Whis is too sweet for that. at the moment. He trusts Gohan. at the moment.

FeathersofMemory: thank you so much for your reviews, glad you enjoyed the chapters. Im so happy that you got all the emotional moments just how I wanted to portray them. and also the relationships and hilarity! It really means a lot when I get reviews like this!

UpwardsDust: Id like to think of the void as even worse than the dead zone, and not connected. also, didnt reeeeally like Garlic Jr as a character. But glad Gohan beasted him twice haha

victor0606 : thank you!

Dr. Blue22 : ahaha you shall have more!

Lord0 : yay! glad you are loving the Gohan and Videl romance! Im so excited to explore it further! Wonder boy may be perfect in Videl's eyes but he has a lot of shizz coming his way!

Reaper180: thank you! glad you are enjoying it!

DragonCrusader: exactly! embrace the moment!

HKGlenstid : thank you for your review and feedback! glad you enjoyed the scene and natural GxV progression! Youre correct, I do want to keep the light heartedness of this story going. However with a villian like Perses and the relationship with Gohan and Videl it will begin to get darker. Though I fully intend to keep the humor and adventure flowing, and will aim to stray away from total darkness, its not mega my style!

TheHiddenLettuce: haha yes, now we get to the good stuff

Super Shadow 2018: i get how demigra might work, but not really a fan of him as a villian. he just isnt as complex enough for me, gotta have a bit of backstory!

Iwik: haha yes, I saw it in a meme that Vegeta's fear had steamed from the worms he had met in the Buu Saga in Buu's belly. But I thought that a life long fear would be hilarious. It also showcases that Gohan is more badass, what with the big strong full bloodied saiyan warriors being scared of worms and tiny needles and Gohan flinching at antiseptic more from the fact that he had to deal with it loads as a kid and that stuff FREAKING STINGS! glad I made you laugh!

A-N-I-M-U-T-A-T-O : wow thank you thank you thank you! your review gives me LIFE! I love that you get it so much and are loving it. I only do this for funzies and to get such great feedback blows me away! " You're capable of keeping the story's atmosphere light hearted for the most part without letting us forget all the reasons that it shouldn't be." - this right here is EXACTLY my concept. I could squeal! Just thank you!

Declan Campbell: he hasnt technically broken any rules just yet xD

jbird2352: thanks so much! glad you laughed at the Gohan and Buu interaction in earlier chapters!

zayten: Im not thinking of turning Gohan evil, he is much too like his original character in that respect. also whis and beerus arent evil either, they are bound to duty. but dont worry Gohan will be showcasing his destructiveness!

HungryHungryHippie: wow thank you so much for this! it means a lot! so glad youre enjoying the story!

Naite-Laef : aw thank you! hopefully the next chapter wont be longer than a couple of weeks!

dspendragon125: oh dear, naughty Gohan!

: thank you!

Scarlet WebSlinger: wow thank you for your review! saying my story is like art warms my womanly heart! haha and I will forcibly keep kicking this can of beans so that they are all spilled!

Mmhit24: aw thank you so much!

LilRocboogie : wow thank you so much for your reviews and your offer, I will have to PM you when i have time xD im so glad that you liked all the emotions and the fact that Videl and Chi-Chi have time to shine, I just hate it when people bash on these characters! so i really wanted to give them more depth especially and also showcase Gohan's relationship with them in a better light.

Guest : haha glad you enjoyed it!

Guest: vegeta no! vegeta yes! is best line!

FoggyJarl166 : hi there! I dont really have so much as an updating schedule unfortunately. I work shifts you see and that can include weekends and nights, it changes all the time and i do long hours so some weeks i have more time and others I dont. I aim to do the best where I can though, and i have managed to write a lot of the plans for upcoming chapters so hopefully that'll be a bit quicker! I am so excited for the next few chapters so hopefully it'll continue to drive me to write even more !


	18. The Supreme Guard

_A/N: Hello there! You're not seeing things, there is another chapter of SGTD! yay! Sorry it's took me so long to right there is a lot going on in my life right now, family drama, work etc that has taken up a lot of my time. This chapter has taken me a good while to write too as I wanted to capture the characterisation and feelings just right, maintain that balance of sadness/humour and action! I really hope I've gotten it right and shown you some more plot development here. I am already working on the next chapter so I'm anticipating that it wont be as much of a long wait as this chapter._

 _I just wanted to thank you all so much for your continuing support. This story would not happen without you, as your reviews encourage me to write more and I'm so glad that I get to share my imagination with you. Thanks as always for stopping by and reading my story 3 I hope the wait for this chapter was worth it._ _I know how much that cliffhanger hurt. When I decided to end it there I decided that it really was the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers, and it hurt me too to end it there, I didn't know I was capable of such evil! :O. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last -_ _I EXPECT TEARS PEOPLE. :P ;)_

 _Also if you want to be mega depressed and in the zone, I recommend listening to : It's Quiet Uptown - Hamilton, Stoic's Ship - How To Train Your Dragon 2 Soundtrack and Oogway Ascends-Kung Fu Panda Soundtrack. I drew inspiration from all three of these songs in order to write the opening chapter xD And for later (you'll know when) You Say Run - My Hero Academia._

 _ES x_

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 _ **I am LOVING these narrations it gives me life.**_

 _Scarlet WebSlinger:_

 _As an evil monster of chaos and destruction ravages through the city, Goku and the gang find themselves helpless and outmatched. This beast seemingly unbeatable has them all on the brink of death. But as quickly as this evil being appeared, so does a new challenger. Before Goku's eyes is the son he once thought lost forever. How will this new revelation effect the rest of the Z fighters!? Will Gohan be able to fend off this new menace? Will Perses break free of his dark prison? Find out next time on DragonBall Z!_

 _RedDragonforce 1:_

 _Narrator's voice: Last Time, Gohan and Videl return home to the Son Family, with an unexpected Guest in Vegeta (Vegeta's voice: So, Beerus, how did that amnesia appointment of yours go?). Tired from the night before, the Junior Destroyer attempted to get some sleep, only for his guilt and regret to get the better of him. (Gohan's voice: S-sorry, I think I must have had a nightmare or something.) The days continued, as did Gohan's search for the Dragonballs, with only three weeks remaining until Shenron can be called upon again, (Piccolo's voice: Well you seem to be integrating back into Earth culture very well.) when suddenly Gohan receives an emergency call back on Lord Beerus's planet. Perses is growing ever stronger, sending out new creations to help weaken the barriers around the void. (Whis's voice: That it is only a matter of time before the seal is broken and Perses is released.) Meanwhile, back on Earth, a new, more dangerous, creation of Perses' is on a rampage, and even the Z-Fighters can't stop him. (Piccolo's voice: Goku, we have to hold off this thing, no matter what.) Just as it looked to be the end for the Z-Fighters, Gohan appears, in full Junior Destroyer Glory, ready to turn the tide. (Gohan's voice: Hi Dad.) Can Gohan defeat this monster, or will his efforts be futile? Find out next, on Son Gohan the Destroyer!_

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 **Chapter Eighteen**

 **The Supreme Guard**

 **xxxx**

 **Planet Earth. June 30th, Age 767**

Within an eye of a hurricane, there is quiet.

But it was loud. Obvious. The only thing that he could attribute the deathly silence to was the aftermath of planet Namek's explosion. A brilliant spectical of light and falling debris, the sound of the planet shattering apart, deafening, and then - nothing.

The news of Gohan's death was just like that. A great big boom to his chest, his heart breaking apart just like the tectonic plates of the Namekian home world and then, emptiness. And just like the giant empty void in space left over from Frieza's final attempt to destroy him, it now resembled the gaping hole in his heart where his son used to be.

He had never known a silence like it. It was unbearable. It filled his home and the surrounding forest, it filtered between him and his friends when they couldn't find the words to say. For Goku, it was as though everything had stood still, even though time continued to move forward, swirling and encircling him as it ushered on like a devastating twister of grief around him.

Just where had the past month gone anyway?

Had he really not seen his son for that long? Of course, he had gone much longer than that without physically seeing the boy, though that was either due to him being dead or by his own choice, in order to control his newly obtained super saiyan state for want of not putting both his family and the Earth in danger. But Goku would never choose _this_.

Gohan was dead.

And according to the Eternal Dragon, he could not come back.

Time, it seemed, had stood still for the boy also. To Goku, he would always be eleven years old, and he would never get to see him grow, see him _live,_ be in awe of the man he knew he was destined to become.

That year he had spent alone with Gohan in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber only solidified his belief that his son would have gone on to achieve great things. He had a brilliant mind, and an insane power to boot. Maybe that was the reason why he had sent his son to fight Cell so readily? Unable to see past the fact that behind the tough-guy bravado he had continued to exhibit in front of him and his friends in the lead up to the battle, that he was still that same scared little boy who used to cling onto the fabric of his gi trousers for dear life.

Piccolo, of course, had pointed it out to him readily. But he had only listened when it was all too late.

He had a lot to learn, that was for certain. And when it came to grief, he was at a similar loss of what to do. He was so young when his grandfather had died, too young to remember the agony he had felt, though all he knew was that he had missed him. He had reconciled with the man of course, way back when, not long before he had married Chi-Chi. And Goku had accepted that his soul was happy, content to live in Otherworld for eternity.

Similarly, they had dragonballs. Though it was a great loss if one of their own died in battle, they always had the dragonballs to fall back on, like a failsafe, a do over. But when it came to Gohan, he was just… _gone_. He had never experienced such a thing before, he nor his friends and family. It was a tremendous blow to them all.

Today had been the funeral.

Goku had never been through anything so difficult in his entire life. He would fight a million villains, face both Frieza and Cell all over again than experience the sheer agony of burying his own child. Not that they could properly, what with no body to speak of. He wasn't sure what was worse.

Bulma had organised everything in the end. She had wisely stated that the grief-stricken parents needed some sort of closure, even though Goku had insisted that he was still adamant on finding out what had happened to Gohan's soul. He had only relented when his oldest friend had pointed out the fact that the young saviour of Earth needed to be commemorated in some way, and that they needed to close one door before opening another.

In other words, accepting the fact that Gohan had died before attempting search for him amongst the stars.

Though the reality of Gohan's death hadn't hit him all at once. He didn't feel as though the boy had just disappeared from the Earth altogether, rather he was lost in pieces over time. Like the way the textbooks with his name on stopped coming through the letterbox, or the way his scent slowly faded from the pillows in his bedroom and even from the clothes in his wardrobe and draws. Gohan was indeed fading from existence gradually, and all that was going to be left were photographs and memories.

Walking past Gohan's bedroom every morning was tough. It was the first door at the top of the stairs, so there was no avoiding it. He would stare at the wooden sign nailed into the oak door which read _'Gohan'_ in bright colourful lettering, something that had he had proudly nailed to the door when he and Chi-Chi had decided to name their sweet newborn in honour of his beloved grandpa. He missed walking past the door and hearing the familiar scratch of pencil on paper, or the soft giggle that escaped the young boy as Icarus would stick his head through the window.

But now the only thing that escaped the bedroom was the same unbearable silence that seemed to penetrate through the solid brick walls.

Gohan's room had remained untouched. The only thing that had been moved were the pyjamas that the boy had tossed carelessly onto the floor in his rush to put on his gi on the morning of The Cell Games, after Goku had coaxed him down from the rooftop where he was watching the sunrise alone. His wife hadn't washed them even still a month later, and it was the same garments that she had howled and screamed into when he informed her that their little boy wouldn't be coming home. She had taken them to bed with her every night since, brushing the cotton shirt over her cheeks in an attempt to subdue the tears that would come forth.

He hated the nights.

The nights where he would be forced to remain strong when all he wanted to do was crumble, and hold his wife as she cried, her shoulders shaking with every heart-wrenching sob.

She gave him next to nothing during the daytime, hardly any emotion, not after the first day without Gohan and she had refused to even leave their bed. He was worried, as Chi-Chi would instead throw herself into cooking and cleaning like she always did whenever she was anxious or stressed, even though there was not as much to do in light of the absence of the half-saiyan preteen.

There wasn't as much mess as usual. No mud trailing in through Gohan's bedroom window from when he used to sneak back in after playing with Icarus or visiting Piccolo. No homework left out on the kitchen table. Less washing, less ironing, no more need for cooking such large amounts of food at meal times.

No more laughter.

His mountain princess had continued regardless, ploughing through the days and weeks with no signs of letting up, making no effort to talk to him about what had happened, as if their son was going to just run down the stairs at any minute whining about homework and asking if it was time for a snack yet. Goku had made no effort to confront her, and a part of him could not summon the energy to do so, it was as though Gohan's death had drained every ounce of life from him. He was frightened too. Frightened that if his wife would stop then she would break completely.

It was clear that Chi-Chi was struggling to even look him in the eye. Speaking to him in short, closed sentences when she did, only searching comfort when night would fall. Goku couldn't blame her. What could he say even? He didn't know _what_ to say. Nothing would make it better. Ever. He had told her all those years ago that he never went back on his promises, even _married_ her based on a promise that he didn't really understand at the time. But he had been so glad that he had kept it.

Though now he had broken his promise, and her trust in him. He had promised his wife that Gohan wouldn't get hurt. And he had, he had been _killed_ and even worse his soul had disappeared into a realm where the Eternal Dragon had no domain over. He couldn't even bring himself to imagine the horrors his son's soul might be facing. That is, if he still even existed after all.

He found himself just going through the motions as the days went on. It took him about a week after Gohan's death to be able to venture out of the house, and Chi-Chi had insisted on it. Though he wasn't sure whether or not it was because she could barely stand the sight of him.

From thereon after it had been the same, and they had fallen into an almost robotic routine. He and his wife would wake up, they would have breakfast and then Goku would go out to train - well he told his wife that, really he had no incentive to do so.

More often than not he found himself staring into space, into the dark gaps in between the forest trees, expecting Gohan to come bounding out of them with a sheepish smile on his face, apologising for being late. If he ventured out to the village for food or other necessities, he would forever be searching the crowds for his face, even though he knew that it was impossible. Goku would come back after a couple of hours, and they would have lunch. Chi-Chi would continue to complete her chores and he would try to help out where he could, pleased when she finally allowed him to do a little more for her as she got tired easily due to her pregnancy.

Her growing baby bump had started to become a lot more visible in the past month. She had told him of the pregnancy on the morning of The Cell Games, giving him even more incentive to come back home in one piece. She was already four months gone, and Goku felt silly for not having noticed sooner, though he reasoned that in between contracting a deadly heart virus, and training to fight Cell that he hadn't been very perceptive.

Chi-Chi too, had informed him that she was going to wait until the world was safe again, as he didn't need the extra worry. However, she wanted to tell him about the baby just incase something bad happened. Though they both agreed to tell Gohan the news that he was going to be a big brother after The Cell Games were over. The young boy was very much like his mother, loving fiercely and a worry-wart to his last nerve. It would have only put more pressure on the poor kid.

But alas, they never got to tell Gohan the exciting news. And they never would.

Goku thought that maybe it was due to some cruel twist of fate. How were they going to put their hearts into raising another child when they had just lost one? Was it right even? Were the Gods giving them a second chance seen as he had messed up so much with the first?

If he was honest, the excitement of becoming a father again wasn't quite the same as the first time around. He had been young and inexperienced - only twenty years old, though the happiness had spread through his veins like wildfire, threatening his heart to spontaneously combust with sheer love and admiration for his wife. She was actually _growing_ a little being inside of her. One that was half him and half her. The thought was surreal. Though nothing compared to the happiness that he had felt when Gohan was born.

He _wanted_ to feel that again, for this second child deserved it. But his once vibrant, beating heart had a gaping Gohan-sized hole in it, his happiness overshadowed by a hurricane of misery.

The funeral had been and gone that morning, followed by a wake at Capsule Corporation. He had been rather surprised when Bulma had picked them up in her jet and taken them to The Cell Games Arena, where he was informed the funeral was being held. His heart had caught in his throat. He didn't necessarily want to be there, the memories were too haunting. He could feel Chi-Chi's trepidation too, as she clutched tightly onto his hand in the back seat.

But his anxiety had soon wavered, as they landed and their friends greeted them, dressed in the colour of mourning, standing in front of a glorious bronze statue of their little boy, depicting his cheeky grin perfectly over the very spot where he had died.

Chi-Chi broke down immediately at the sight, exclaiming her gratitude towards Bulma and clutching onto her tightly, causing tears to spill from the woman's own blue eyes. They were rather shocked however, when they had learned that it had been Vegeta's idea to erect a statue to commemorate the preteen rather than bury an empty casket in a cemetery. Apparently, according to Bulma, the prince had told her that only the greatest Saiyan warriors were given an honour such as this, and that he would 'blast her into oblivion' if she even thought about giving 'the brat a weakling human burial'. He had confronted a disgruntled Vegeta later that day about it, thanking him for such a thoughtful idea.

 _"I only did it so that you could stop wallowing in your own self pity. I won't let either of us get left in the dust by a child's power. So you'd better dust off your training gear when you get home," Vegeta paused in his speech, turning back to him, his hard obsidian gaze softening ever so slightly, "You can't dwell on what could have been, Kakarot. The brat wouldn't want you to mourn like this. You should be proud of your son, just as much as I am."_

The bright blue skies and scorching summer sun that beat down on them was a stark contrast to the raging storm within him. Few words were spoken between the group, and he was grateful that his best friend had managed to stand in front of them all and speak some words about Gohan where he couldn't. Goku couldn't even remember what Krillin had said, too busy trying to wrap his head around the fact that this was all actually happening and that they were at _Gohan's_ funeral. Come to think of it, he had never been to a funeral in his life, he never would have imagined that the first one he would go to would be that of his son's.

He, Chi-Chi and Ox-King were stood at the front nearest to the monument, the dust clouds brushing over the desolate wasteland. The craters and scorch marks embedded into the dirt reminding them all too well of the impact of the epic battle that had waged between two great powerhouses. He could sense Piccolo hovering behind them, though he didn't speak to him, neither did he come to the wake. In fact, the Namekian warrior hadn't spoken a word to him since he had screamed at him that his son was dead whilst he was still with King Kai in The Otherworld.

Even so, he was glad that he had accepted Bulma's invitation and come to the funeral at least. Piccolo and Gohan had always had a special relationship, one that he had grown a little jealous of at times - though he couldn't blame his son for being so close with his old nemesis, and was thankful to Piccolo for being there for Gohan when he couldn't be.

But this wasn't right.

It wasn't the natural order of things, for a parent to outlive their child. Gohan was supposed to grow old and become the hero of Earth, or a great scholar, or both even - he had the smarts and determination after all. He was supposed to carry on the legacy of the Z-Fighters long after they had passed, do great things, maybe get married and have children of his own even. Though it was with great revelation and regret did he realise that neither he or his wife had actually _asked_ the boy what he had wanted. Both of them too clouded by their own ideals that such a magnificent child could achieve.

Bulma had spoken next, though when she had expressed how smart and dutiful the boy had been it had moved Chi-Chi to pieces. She had utterly crumbled, though barrelled her face into her father's embrace rather than his. The equally devastated Ox-King stroked her hair soothingly, tears rolling down his own cheeks as the usually strong woman continued to bawl, her desperate cries echoing over the wasteland.

He couldn't remember what had really happened after that, it had all been a blur. All he knew was that when someone had said _'final goodbye'_ that he had broken. He vaguely remembered having to be held up by both Yamcha and Tien just to get through the rest of the ceremony. His knees collapsing under themselves as he could no longer find the strength to even stand.

For the first time in his life, Goku was at a loss. He was always the one that the gang would look to for answers, for hope, as their unofficial leader. He had given almost every one of them a second chance at leading a good life and brought them together. He had been their saviour on numerous occasions, the person that they looked to when everything went wrong. But now, as his and Chi-Chi's entire world was collapsing around them, he had no idea what to do to make it all better.

His friends had thought he had been crazy when he had sent his own son to fight Cell. How could Gohan, an eleven year old kid possibly take down the most powerful, terrifying enemy that they had ever faced? They agreed that his super saiyan son was strong, had kept up with them since he was a meek little four year old even, but they still had their reservations. But they hadn't seen what _he_ had in that Time Chamber, the awesome power that had quite literally stunned him to silence.

Of course, he had been right all along. Gohan, with the right buttons pushed, had unleashed the furious inner strength that the Z-Fighters had all seen snippets of since he was a young boy. And with it he brought the once seemingly invincible Cell to his knees in no less than _two_ mighty blows. Goku couldn't have been prouder, but he was quickly just as astounded by the unforgiving nature that his son had developed on the battlefield, the immense power flooding through him flying to his head.

He thought that he had rectified his mistake. Though his sacrifice had been in vain in the end. The last time he had seen his son he had been a bloodied and broken super saiyan two, caked in mud and a mixture of Cell's and his own blood. His purple gi was in tatters, and hot tears coursed down his cheeks as he looked towards him in horror, his haunted emerald eyes wide in the realisation of what his father was about to do.

It was not how he wanted to remember his son. Yet the memory of Gohan's agonising screams and look of all encompassing guilt was a frequent picture in his mind. It haunted his dreams and filled his heart with regret and anguish.

The whole world knew of course. They knew all about Gohan's noble sacrifice. Mister Satan, the gloating, pompous world champion had told the media the truth about the winner of The Cell Games, much to the Z-Fighters surprise. They had half expected the big-headed oaf to take the credit. Though Goku could tell that the Champ was a good man at heart, and not even _he_ would swipe the victory underneath the eleven year olds feet after watching him die horrifically right before his eyes.

In a way, he had been glad that his son had gotten the recognition for saving the world like he deserved, though he wasn't too pleased by the relentless media. It quickly became apparent that journalists had done some digging, and after hearing Gohan's name being shouted out by Cell before the cameras cut out, they had successfully tracked his family and even found them in the mountains. Of course, they were met with a grieving, pregnant ex-martial artist who chased them off the property with a broomstick and a rolling pin, and they hadn't come back since.

However, it still didn't stop the TV reports that would flash across the screen, spouting about the valiant world saviour and depicting him as a martyr and a celebrity. He couldn't help but think just how embarrassed the preteen would be by all the attention. Though despite the hysteria of the Earthlings, who had struggled to accept the fact that they had all been saved by a mere child, did Goku find that not all of them were after a scoop on the parents of the boy or trying to get them to endorse a city being named after him. Letters and cards had practically poured through the front door, as people from all over the world offered their sympathy and also their thanks to the parents of the young boy. He had even heard from people who he had met on his adventures as a child, and was rather humbled by the fact that they had taken the time to write to him and his wife.

He had no doubt that peoples kindness would soon stretch as far as the Northern Wastelands, and Gohan's grave would soon be a popular place for people all over the world to come and pay their respects.

The ceremony had lasted for an agonising amount of time, and he was almost glad to escape the shadow of his son's statue and move on to Capsule Corporation. Goku hadn't eaten much at the wake, much to everyones worry, though the full-bloodied saiyan was past caring. He mostly sat alone, though Krillin kept stopping by his seat on the sofa to offer him a drink and make a bit of small talk. There were a few comments about the new baby, such as 'when is Chi-Chi due?' 'do you know if it's a boy or a girl?' But Goku didn't have the energy to give them so much as a shrug in reply, instead finding his whiskey glass much more interesting. He had never really drank before, though the amber liquid that Yamcha had kindly handed him 'for his nerves' had worked somewhat. It managed to stop his hands from shaking, and the burning warmth chased away the icy coldness of his insides - albeit momentarily.

Later that night, when the sky was dark and the stars were the only light around for miles, did he and Chi-Chi retire to their empty little cottage at the edge of the forest. They entered the master bedroom with barely a word spoken between them, and as he watched her, draped in her black dress that stretched over her growing stomach, taking off her earrings and placing them on the dresser, did he practically feel the ache emitting from her very being. Her beautiful eyes were red and swollen from crying, and he doubted that he was in any better condition.

He sighed from where he was perched on the bed, the stuffy black suit he was wearing becoming all too restrictive all of a sudden. Which was why he asked his wife to come for a walk with him, and was even more surprised when she accepted with only a moments hesitation.

Still dressed in black, they escaped the confines of their home which was threatening to suffocate them with grief. They walked in silence, the starlight paving their way through the dark forest, casting shadows before them as they made their way into a familiar clearing, stopping as they realised all too late where they had automatically come to. They stared at the hole in the huge apple tree, nostalgia and a fresh wave of sadness and longing hitting them altogether.

Goku said nothing, as his wife tentatively interlaced her fingers with his.

"I made him study too much you know."

He snapped his head towards her, his eyes widening. It was the first time she had openly spoken about Gohan since he had died.

"What do you mean?" he asked, frowning, as the ox-princess sighed heavily, tears welling in her eyes and a hand coming to rest on her small baby bump.

Those eyes, they were so much like Gohan's. So full of knowledge and emotion. Holding so much, like storybooks that he wished to read over and over, stories that he could so easily loose himself in. Though Gohan's eyes seemed to hold a different kind of intelligence. Intelligence that had frustrated Goku at times, as for a parent, knowing that your son was smarter than you was a difficult thing to swallow. He had been brought up rather simply after all. Being his father, he wanted to be the one that gave his son all the answers to life that he needed. But even despite his reservations, his pride for the young boy's smarts had overshadowed those feelings.

Now he wanted Chi-Chi to give him some answers, answers as to how he could make it right again. But at that moment, all he could do was listen to hear speak, for it was the most she had done so in the last month.

"I made him study so that he would have a choice," she said, her eyes never leaving the hole that their baby boy had made in the tree all those years ago when he had accidentally let go of his pushchair, "He didn't have to fight if he didn't want to. He wouldn't need to have a dangerous childhood like ours. He wouldn't get hurt if he was a scholar or a doctor. But even after all that, I still couldn't protect him. And I have to wonder whether all that time spent studying instead of training or playing like he should have done was worth it."

Goku's mouth ran dry all of a sudden, as he turned to her, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders as his eyes searched her features, "Chi-Chi, please don't. You didn't have any part to play in this. It was _my fault_. I-I was so certain that he would win and -."

"But he did," she sniffed, the smallest hint of a prideful smile upon her lips, "He did win, our little boy saved the world Goku."

"But he died," he choked, the burning ache resurfacing against his will. He didn't want to break down in front of her again like at the funeral, "He died and I couldn't stop it…I was supposed to protect him."

His wife closed her eyes solemnly, they both knew the horrific truth of his words. And it was hard to swallow.

"I'm so sorry Chi-Chi."

"Don't Goku," she said breathing in rather sharply, "I can't - "

"Look, I know I don't deserve it, but just hear me out Chi, please," he begged desperately, his fingertips grasping onto the sleeves of her midnight dress, "I would do anything, _anything_ to bring Gohan back to us. I-If I could go back, if I could spare his life, if I could trade his life for mine then I -."

"Don't say that!" she snapped, tears spilling from her eyes and running freely down her cheeks.

Goku stared, as his wife gritted her teeth in anger. He didn't understand why she was so angry all of a sudden.

"Don't you see?" she sobbed, her voice thick and heavy with emotion, "I don't want one or the other. I don't _want_ you to die for him! I want both of you, all of you! I just want us to be a family again, just like we used to be! Before any of _this_ h-happened!"

He swallowed thickly, his gaze searching hers. He realised now how much pain he had caused his wife, he knew exactly what she was referring to. She wanted to go back, turn back the clock, back to the time when Gohan was little and it was just their little family of three in their warm happy cottage by the forest. No aliens, no fighting, no battles - no death. And yet it seemed as though those days were so far away now, for as soon as he had taken Gohan to visit Kame House on that fateful day did everything feel as though it had spiralled out of control.

Chi-Chi had lost so much on that day, her husband had died and her four year old son had been kidnapped. From watching their battles on TV to hospital recoveries, Namek, super saiyans and then the whole mess with the androids she had remained strong and stubborn. She had been there for him and Gohan and the rest of the gang, even though she had always made her point heard - in true Chi-Chi fashion. He understood why his wife was opposed to their son fighting. He was just a kid. He realised that now.

A ghost of childish laughter echoed in his ears. He sighed, he could see him now, walking alongside them before running ahead, up the path where the dancing fireflies would reflect the spark in his deep onyx eyes. His face would light up with wonder, calling back to the parents whom he loved so much, but were the ones that had ultimately failed him.

Chi-Chi followed his gaze, watching the fireflies buzz around them. She sighed longingly, as though she could see Gohan waving back at them too.

"I don't pretend to know how we're going to get through this Chi," said Goku, drawing her attention back to him, "I don't know what challenges were going to face. But if you just let me stay by your side then -."

"I'm not going anywhere Goku," she told him, reaching up and cupping his jaw with her palm, her thumb brushing a stray tear from his cheek. He didn't even realise that he was crying. "I just need time."

He closed his eyes, leaning into her hand as she spoke again, softly this time.

"I know who I married," she said, "And even though I hated it, I accepted that you might not come home. But not our _son,_ Goku. Not Gohan."

"I'm sorry," he mustered, his voice barely a whisper as a pang of guilt and regret stabbed at his heart.

"I'm sorry too," she whispered back, causing him to open his eyes once more.

Chi-Chi was right in a way. She had accepted that she had married a fighter, a warrior, and knew that as a Z-Fighter he would always be one of the first to answer a call to battle. Battles that he might not return from. Warriors, _heroes_ were like candles, burning twice as bright and thus burning for half as long. Though despite what his wife said, he couldn't help but think that Gohan's candle had always burned brighter than his. It showed in the way he fought, sometimes reckless but with the nerve and the passion of someone three times his age.

And it was watching him live with such passion that had struck him so profoundly. It was watching him cry in frustration underneath the blood and sweat of training, it was watching him laugh underneath the starlight, it was kissing his forehead and ruffling his messy hair, tucking the blankets around his small frame when the daylight surrendered to the clutches of night. It was watching him breathe, and hope and dare to dream. It was loving his existence in this world so much so that it completely took his breath away, it was watching him _live_ and knowing that he was so privileged to watch him grow every single day.

It was the realisation that he would never get to see him again that hurt so much.

"I miss him," he croaked suddenly, "I miss him _so much_ Chi-Chi."

"Me too," she mustered, allowing him to rest his forehead on hers in search of comfort, "I wish he could have met his little brother or sister."

"We wouldn't have gotten a look in," he chuckled ever so slightly, "He would have been the best big brother ever."

"There's no doubt in that," Chi-Chi smiled sadly up at him, and hesitated, "Do you think that Shenron is right Goku? Can he really not be brought back?"

"I don't know Chi," he said, letting out a shaky breath, "He's… he's got to be out there somewhere. I just _know_ it. I - I don't want to give up on him."

"Then don't," she stated firmly, causing him to blink back at her, "Gohan, he wouldn't give up on any of us. And I know it seems impossible, but we have to try."

"You're right," Goku smiled back, cupping both of her hands with his and holding them close to his heart, her eyes were still full of tears, "I won't give up on him that easily. I'll try and find him Chi-Chi, but I just don't know how long it'll take. I don't want to get our hopes up just incase we don't…"

He couldn't finish the end of his sentence. Then again, he didn't have to, as the ox-princess nodded in understanding.

"We can try Goku," she said, "That would be enough."

He owed it her, to them. To his family.

"Okay," he stated firmly, a new found determination in his eyes, "I'll start searching tomorrow."

He was surprised, yet elated as his wife suddenly wrapped her arms around his middle, burying her head into his chest and allowing his strong arms to encompass her. He sighed, kissing her hair softly before resting his chin on her head, his obsidian eyes cast out to the glistening blanket of stars above them.

He _would_ find Gohan. No matter what it took. He would give anything to see that little boy of his with fly away hair and big twinkling eyes looking up at him with such wonder and awe once more. Even if it was just for a moment.

But in all honesty, he thought, as a shooting star shot across the night sky, he didn't really know where to start.

* * *

 **West City, Planet Earth. Age 775**

Goku's eyes widened to the size of saucers, as he heard the rest of the Z-Fighters gasp around him at the young man's reply.

He was a man in every sense of the word. From his tall, muscular stature, to his deep voice, to the way his dark eyes held such wisdom and experience. Though he couldn't help but notice the lingering spark of boyhood that he had missed so much.

But he was him, and he was here. After all these years.

"Gohan," Goku spoke again, the word sounding so alien on his tongue. It was certainly strange, addressing the son that had been gone for eight long agonising years, "Gohan, what is - ?"

"I'd love to explain and catch up," the teenager told him, his smile growing a little wider, his eyes drinking in every inch of them, "But it seems as though we've got a bit of a situation on our hands."

"I-I'm dreaming," Krillin croaked from a ways behind him, half laughing as tears streamed freely down his bruised and bloodied cheeks, "Tell me I'm not dreaming! I-Is that really Gohan? _Our_ Gohan?!"

"Looks that way Krillin," said Tien, shaking his head in both amusement and disbelief, "Well I'll be damned."

"He's gotten a lot taller," Yamcha observed wearily, a bark of laughter escaping him, "B-But h-how is this even possible?!"

The others were in a similar state of shock, Videl in particular had her mouth hanging open from where she was leaning heavily up a broken slab of concrete. The pain from her twisted and bleeding ankle long forgotten about since the appearance of the young halfling.

Vegeta all but snarled in annoyance next to him, "Leaving it until the last second I ask you! Stupid boy, he's nothing but a damned drama queen."

"Gohan," Goku mustered again, unable to stop himself from saying his name. He wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time. He wanted to tell him how sorry he was, how much he had missed him - to explain. Yet his tongue felt heavy and twisted, and he couldn't seem to get his words out properly, "We tried to - the dragon - I couldn't -."

"Relax Dad, I know everything. But we'll talk later, you need to rest and save your strength." his son replied calmly, before a cheeky grin spread across his lips, "So why don't you all let me handle this one?"

Vegeta scoffed, though a rather amused smirk tugged at his features "Great, now I'm being given orders by a dead brat."

Gohan laughed, shaking his head at the prince's words. Goku didn't think that there was any greater sound in the world. He had really missed that laugh, though its tone was so much deeper now.

"Don't worry V," he quirked, giving them a wink, "You can still be useful and hand out those senzu beans that Krillin has in his pocket."

"Why that _little_ \- !"

"How did he know?" Krillin blinked, fishing the small string bag out of his gi trousers.

"Just a hunch," he shrugged with a small smirk, before a loud, rumbling growl echoed around them.

The beast was getting impatient it seemed, having recovered from the shock of being dazzled by the teenager's entrance. It snarled at the halfling at its feet, as large globules of saliva dripped from his sharp fangs and onto the dusty ground below.

"Now," said Gohan, turning towards the mutated dragon with a thoughtful glare, "Just what am I going to do with you?"

The Z-Fighters watched apprehensively, as the monster let out another menacing growl, towering over the hybrid with venom in its eyes. Yet Gohan appeared unfazed, standing tall with his feet grounded, his cloak billowing in the breeze.

"You obviously don't know who I am," he continued, though he seemed rather amused by the fact, "Otherwise you'd be treating me with a lot more respect, let alone my home planet. I suppose I'm going to have to teach you a valuable lesson."

An earthquaking roar escaped the beasts mouth, its jaws hovering over the teenager, blowing his hair back from his face and causing a tremor to shake the ground around them.

Gohan coughed, turning slightly green and waving his hand in front of his nose, "And how to use a toothbrush apparently. Seriously, have you never heard of a breath mint?!"

"What in the hell is he _doing_?!" Piccolo scoffed from Goku's side, his gi tattered but his body fully healed thanks to a senzu bean.

"Is he trying to antagonise on purpose?!" Tien guffawed, wincing as Eighteen helped him up from the crater that he was previously embedded in.

"I'm sure he's got a plan," Videl breathed wearily, still limping slightly as the senzu bean began to take effect. Her sapphire eyes were fixated on the boy in front of them, "I mean it would be _stupid_ of him not to have one… Right?"

"Whatever it is, I hope he knows what he's doing," coughed Yamcha gruffly, steadying Goku to his feet as the others looked warily on. "You alright mate?"

The earth-raised saiyan nodded, accepting his own senzu from the ex-bandit. Though his gaze was firmly set ahead, his stomach churning with fear and anticipation, "Be careful Gohan."

Though he needn't have worried, as at once the young warrior kicked off from the ground, aiming a powerful kick straight towards the beasts jaw. It was so fast that they had nearly missed it, though the sheer sound of his boot connecting with bone was almost deafening, creating a sonic boom over West City and the surrounding area, as the creature roared in agony.

There was no time to even process just what was happening, as the halfling followed up in his attack, not waiting a moment for the monster to recover as he imbedded his fist deep within its gut. To their surprise and utter amazement, the mutated dragon was lifted off its feet by the sheer force of the punch alone, before the young saiyan appeared above it in an instant, delivering a crippling hammer fist to its skull and sending it crashing back down to the ground.

The Z-Fighters gaped, their jaws hitting the floor simultaneously. In awe of the spectacle of power that the teenager had just displayed.

Here was a monster, a rampaging _beast_ that was so corrupted by evil intentions that it had nearly destroyed everything without a second thought. A vile being so powerful that not even Goku and Vegeta could best it in their strongest forms, not to mention the way it had so easily batted away the Z-Fighter's most deadly attacks as if it were childs play.

And here was Gohan, not even a super saiyan and he had **PICKED. IT. APART**.

In _seconds_ no doubt.

A flurry of questions assaulted the stunned fighters minds. Where had this kid of theirs been? How did he get so powerful? Was this even _real_?

Though there was no time for questions, as the vile creature landed in a pitiful heap, the impact of its body hitting the decimated streets sending a powerful shockwave throughout the entire city. Clouds of dust and battle filth exploded into the air, wiping out the majority of the flames and giving the protectors of Earth a better view of the fight.

"Still managing to get up are you?" Gohan's voice rang out around them, his commanding tone sending vibrations through their chests.

The smoke cleared, allowing them to find him hovering in front of the beast with his arms folded, his calculated gaze watching almost indifferently as it clambered warily to its clawed feet. The creature snarled, green blood dripping from its gaping mouth as it snapped its jaws towards its opponent.

Dodging swiftly out of the way of its razor sharp teeth, the teenager sighed, "Look, its up to you. We can either do this the easy way, or the hard way. Your choice really, it makes no odds to me."

The monster retorted with a enormous growl, unleashing a deadly ball of crimson Ki from its mouth and aiming for the halfling.

Gohan sighed with mild annoyance, easily batting away the blast with his palm where it exploded high above the city. "Right then, hard way it is."

The fighters on the ground were baffled, as the half-saiyan smirked almost devilishly, throwing out his right hand in a dramatic fashion, his whole arm stretched out to his side, "Prepare yourself for defeat, ugly."

They were even more confused, as several seconds passed - and nothing happened.

"Damn it!" Gohan growled under his breath, "I can never time that right."

Before Goku and the others could even ponder just what in the HFIL the deceased teen was talking about, was the monstrous villain upon him again, more intent on killing him than ever before. Its enormous fists swinging towards him ferociously, its long tail whipping through the air and destroying more buildings below, prompting the halfling to phase quickly out of its murderous path.

"Yikes! Can't you have a bit of patience?!" He yelped, ducking under another white hot blast that nearly took his head clean off.

Then, as the beasts jaws aimed for him again, did a faint whistling sound reach their ears, getting louder and louder with each passing second.

"Er, does any one else hear that?" Krillin asked weakly, before a sudden shout caught their attention.

"THERE!" The garbed teenager shouted, expertly grasping the hilt of the sword that had come speeding his way out of nowhere.

Gohan whipped around quickly, the momentum of the shining sword spinning him in place before he appeared before the monsters snout in a flash, grinning up at it wickedly.

"Here, hold this for a second would you?"

The dragon made a disgruntled noise of confusion, before it was followed up by a devastating howl of agony, as the halfling sunk the sharp blade straight into its awaiting mouth. The bloodied point bursting out of the underside of its jaw before Gohan let go of the hilt, sickly green blood splattering onto the pavement below.

Goku wasn't entirely certain just what happened next, though he presumed that the sword must have been ridiculously heavy, for as soon as his son let go, did the monster swiftly drop to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut. It crashed to the floor with an almighty thud, guided by the staggering deadweight in its snout. It cried out, wigging its tailed backside furiously in a desperate attempt to free itself. Though it was completely futile, as the sword was impaled into the pavement, green blood seeping over the cracked and scorched ground.

Gohan landed swiftly before it, his onyx eyes positively glaring at the wicked fiend at his feet before he cast his gaze towards the heavens, a bellowing shout erupting from his throat.

"Right, so who's the git behind releasing this even bigger git from the realm of The Void?!" Gohan yelled upwards, causing the Z-Fighters to share a confused and awe filled glance.

Silence rained down upon them, causing the teenager to let out a growl of frustration, a dark ball of purple energy materialising within his palm as he directed it towards the defeated beast, "I've got a pretty good idea of who, though I'd better get some answers as to how you did it fast, or else your little pet gets it!"

Then suddenly, there was laughter.

Cold, cruel laughter that cut through the air like a knife. Goku and the others looked around them frantically in order to depict just where the source of such spine chilling laughter was coming from. Though Gohan's eyes were fixed firmly upwards, his jaw clenching tightly at the sound.

"So, it's you. The warrior I've been waiting for," the voice started, it sounded male, youthful, almost adolescent in nature. Though it was laced with venom, sending an icy chill up their spines, "Son Gohan, I presume?"

"That depends on whose asking," the halfling snapped back, the ball of violet Ki still swirling menacingly in his palm. It didn't look that impressive, but the power within it was positively devastating - _dark_ almost.

"Oh I think you already know, if your so called _superiors_ were wise enough to warn you about me," the mysterious voice echoed around them ominously.

"Perses," Gohan spat, his teeth gritting in anger, "So the rumours were true, you really are alive."

"I cannot die," said Perses, though it was still unclear as to just where his voice was coming from, "Not until I lay waste to you and your pitiful Gods. Though I have to say, you certainly weren't what I was expecting."

"I get that a lot," the teenager shrugged, though his eyes remained fierce, "But then again, I've always loved the element of surprise."

"Is that so?" the voiced dubbed Perses positively cooed, "And are you surprised by my presence?"

"If I'm honest, I'm more surprised that you've been too busy chatting me up instead of attacking," said Gohan, his lips drawing into a smirk, "That is, unless you haven't actually managed to escape The Void yet."

It seemed as though the young saiyan was correct in his assumption, as they heard Perses scoff in annoyance.

"Not as strong as you think you are, are you?" the young saiyan jested, "I don't care just how you're managing to reach me from your prison, but just know that I'm not scared of someone that makes threats from the safety of the shadows."

Perses growled with anger, "Your arrogance will be your undoing."

"Save it for the battle field," he barked back, "That is, if you actually manage to escape. Though if your little creations are anything to go by, you're probably not even worth my time."

"You _insolent-_!" he started, though quickly managed to curb his anger, his voice echoing around them in a much calmer tone, "You have no idea of the power I wield. I am the ultimate divine being, and I will achieve my destiny."

"And just what destiny is that?" Gohan demanded hotly, his famous temper getting the better of him, "What do you hope to achieve if you _do_ escape? Do you want everything to just turn to ruin? For the universe to _die_?!"

"Oh how naive you are," said Perses with a small chuckle, "It seems as though Whis has you right where he wants you. Your loyalty is certainly misplaced, young one."

"What the hell are you talking about?" the halfling snapped, as more laughter reached his ears.

"Stupid boy, you have much to learn in regards to the ways of the universe," he observed, "Though I cannot blame you for your gullibility. I learned all too late the atrocities of the Gods. I am merely trying to rectify that. I only wish to start afresh, begin a new universe, eradicate the divine hierarchy that has plagued me for too long. And when I finally rule over the cosmos, I can exact my final plan, unworthy mortals and Gods alike will be purged."

"You have no right, you have no right to make that call!" yelled Gohan, his eyes glinting in anger.

"Oh really?" Perses' voice hollered in amusement, "But you make that call all the time don't you _Lord_ Gohan?"

The teenager snapped his mouth shut at his mocking words, paling slightly as the Z-Fighters looked on confused.

"Don't you see that it is for the greater good of the universe?" the mysterious being continued, "For it cannot sustain the hardships that the majority of mortals bring. The universes resources are finite, its capacity finite. Your Gods talk of 'balance' but they fail to realise the error of mortals. War, disease, famine. And yet time and time again they do not correct their mistakes. Believing that mortals are nothing but thieves and murderers and that the Gods are valiant and just, is toxic. And those who believe in such sentiments cannot be maintained, they need to be purged and controlled. And that is where I come in."

"And then what?" Gohan snarled, "Even with the Gods gone and the mortals controlled, what will that achieve? Where's the benefit?"

"The sun will rise on a grateful universe," said Perses, "And I, as the only benevolent and merciful God will have achieved my destiny."

"It'll never happen," the young saiyan glowered, "Not as long as I'm still standing."

"You may be on the path towards divinity but you are still nothing but a foolish mortal," he spat harshly, "Soon you will know what its like to loose, to feel so desperately that you're right, but fail all the same. You may dread it, you may run from it, but _destiny_ still arrives. I am getting stronger with each passing day, and neither you nor the Gods will be able to stop me."

"That reminds me, how are you managing to regain your power?" he asked, "I know that you're stealing it from Lord Beerus. Rather cowardly of you if you ask me."

The evil being snarled back, "It is all apart of my plan to exact my revenge. Though I wouldn't want to bore you with an explanation, I doubt that you will exist long enough to find out the answer."

"Well sorry to disappoint you, but Earth is closed today," said Gohan, getting tired of his musings and blowing a stray bang away from his eyes, "As is the rest of the universe that you've unleashed your little pets upon. So why don't you crawl back into the shadows and waste away for all eternity like you were supposed to, you can keep your dreams of ruling over the cosmos to yourself."

Perses laughed evilly, "But how can I rest when there is so much work to be done? Mistakes need to be corrected after all. And I'll start with _you_."

The halfling scowled as the laughter faded away into the distance, unleashing his anger along with the spherical blast within his palm. It careened towards the monstrous beast lying defeated upon the ground. There was a wave of pulsating light, and to the Z-Fighters astonishment, the dragon-like creature disintegrated in a swirl of purple particles as if it had never even existed to begin with.

Though there was no time to celebrate, as a blood curdling screech reached their ears, and out from the shadows of the decimated buildings did _hundreds_ of small dark gremlins hurtle towards the young saiyan in frenzied waves, clawing and clambering over each other in a desperate attempt to reach him first. They sort of looked like mutated goblins, with small grey bodies and pointed ears and fangs, sharp talons dragging on the cracked pavement as they screeched and hollered in a strange high-pitched language.

Gohan sighed almost begrudgingly, "Why are there _always_ minions?!"

"GOHAN!" The Z-Fighters cried out in desperation, as the gremlins attacked him all at once, completely overwhelming the halfling as he disappeared from view.

After a few seconds of shrieking and snarling, in which the warriors of Earth prepared themselves to intervene, did a blinding golden light begin to shine out from the gaps in the gaggle of minions, shooting outwards in rays before it exploded - sending the devilish fiends flying high into the air, some of them even disintegrating from the influx of pure power.

They stared, wide eyed at the glowing super saiyan before them, Gohan's heightened energy assaulting their senses as it towered high above anything else on the planet, it was _crippling_ , like a great beacon of light within the darkness. His long golden hair whipped about him in the violent winds he had just created with his fiery aura, his emerald eyes hardened with intent and a small smirk gracing his lips as he reached behind him and yanked his sword out of the ground.

Perses' minions squeaked, quite rightly taking a step backwards as the teenager spoke, spinning the sword around effortlessly in his palm, "You don't mind if I fight back, do you?"

A howl of screeching agony escaped the creatures, as Gohan was upon them in an instant, his fists connecting with their bodies that all but exploded on impact. His sword it seemed, was all but an extension of himself, as it moved just as fluidly through the air as if it was another arm, swiping and slicing through the enemy with deadly precision and finesse.

When another crowd of minions shot towards him, he was more than prepared, letting go of the hilt of his sword and allowing it to careen towards them. It span widely in a circle, slicing the surrounding creatures apart in a jaw-dropping display. Then, as the ancient relic was about to fly away, Gohan threw out his palm, summoning the sword back to him and snatching it out of the air with impressive ease.

"Yeah go Gohan!" Videl hollered suddenly, her bright sapphire eyes alight with awe, "Let 'em have it!"

The young saiyan visibly blushed, his free hand flying to his hair as he stopped to flash her a charming grin. Though his sudden lapse in concentration was just enough for one of the mutated goblins to land a hit straight to the teen's gut, causing him to double over in pain and drop the sword to the ground with an audible clang.

Beside Goku, Piccolo and Vegeta face-palmed.

Though luckily, Gohan swiftly recovered, glaring daggers at the minion that had punched him and retaliating by blasting the tiny fiend straight in the face, its smouldering body collapsing in a heap of smoke and ash. Not wasting another second, the young saiyan gritted his teeth, picked up his sword and jumped high into the air, causing the shell-shocked goblins to squawk in confusion. He gripped the sword in both of his palms, lifting the relic high above his head where it glinted in the sunlight that had slowly started to peak through the clouds.

Then, in a split second, it was all over. The young super saiyan let himself drop out of the sky, his boots and the sharp point of the ancient sword hitting the ground with an enormous **BOOM.** A rip-roaring shock of energy decimated the surrounding buildings, wiping out the remaining minions and forming a small crater beneath his feet.

A stunned, harrowing silence followed, as Gohan stood up fully, blowing his hair out of his eyes and letting his transformation leave him completely, his hair and eyes returning to their usual colour. The Z-Fighters could neither move, nor speak, as the halfling brushed off some dirt that had landed on the front of his garb, looking as though the fight hadn't worn him out in the slightest.

Goku was just as flabbergasted as the rest of them as he watched his son, and a sudden loud beeping reached their ears. To their surprise, the teenager sighed in annoyance, waving his hand before catching a rounded device that had seemingly appeared out of thin air. It looked like some sort of communicator, as he pressed the large button and spoke into it.

The young man listened as an angered voice protruded from the speaker, though Goku couldn't quite make out what was being said as he was too far away.

Wincing slightly, Gohan pulled the device away from his ear before calling back to it, "Yeah yeah, alright! There's no need to _yell_!"

He seemed to be having an argument with someone, as the teen spouted again, shouting over the furious nattering echoing from the communicator, "So what if I threatened him? He totally deserved it! ….Well I - If you would just let me - Oh calm down will you? - Well I _beat_ them didn't I?!"

 _"NEXT TIME, DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN JUST FOR A PAIR OF BIG GOO GOO EYES!"_

The voice was so loud all of a sudden that it was difficult not to hear _that_ particular sentence.

Gohan flushed angrily, "I DID NOT - ! Oh they've gone…"

The young saiyan sighed, banishing the device back to whence it came, before turning to the stunned and slightly amused group of warriors before him. His eyes were wide, as he swore under his breath.

"Um, hi everyone," He mustered weakly, giving them a small wave as he placed the sword into the sheathe on his back.

"Gohan?" Krillin whispered, the only one brave enough to speak, "Is that really you?"

The young saiyan nodded, giving him a sad smile, "Yeah, its me."

"B-but you said you were - Beerus - why did -?" Goku managed to muster, watching as his son turned to him, guilt evident in his eyes.

"I know, I'm really sorry I lied Dad, I -," though Gohan suddenly found that the words had evaporated from his tongue as his father suddenly charged towards him in long urgent strides and engulfed him in a strong, near bone-breaking embrace.

At first, the teenager thought that his father was going to attack him, what with the way his eyes shone with such determination and unyielding emotion. So he was more than relieved when he had hugged him instead, allowing him to return the embrace with gusto as the man's fingers threaded through the hair at the nape of his neck, his hulking stature still able to encompass him, even though he was practically the same height and build as he now. A well of emotion filled Gohan's chest, as his father held onto him so tightly as if he was afraid of what would happen if he were to let go.

"Oh Gohan," Goku croaked, his voice thick and heavy as his head rested on his shoulder, "Gohan I'm sorry, I'm so _so_ sorry."

Gohan drew back quickly, his features marred with confusion as he stared at the man's blood shot eyes. He had never _ever_ seen his father cry, it was incredibly unnerving to see the legendary Son Goku reduced to tears.

"Woah, woah Dad!" the young halfling pressed, his eyes searching him worriedly, "What in the world do you have to be sorry about?"

"I-I got you killed," Goku choked, struggling to stop the tears from falling, wiping the back of his hand hurriedly upon his cheeks, "Gohan, you _died_ and you were never supposed to. I should have never sent you up against Cell, and I -."

"Dad, you did the right thing," said Gohan firmly, cutting across him and causing the man to blink in shock, "No one else could have defeated Cell at that point except for me. If you hadn't stuck to your guns then I doubt that the Earth would still be standing. Hell, if you hadn't of believed in me, then my power would have never been unleashed fully, and I wouldn't have been able to save the Earth and given everyone a better chance at living life the way they wanted to. You should never be sorry for that."

His wise words seemed to do the trick, as no more tears fell from his father's watery eyes, and the man allowed a small smile to grace his features, "I just can't believe you're here."

"Me neither to be quite honest with you," he replied meekly, "But I'm glad I am, and that I got to speak to you. I-I didn't mean it to be this way, to hide who I was and everything, but as I'm sure you've gathered, there's some pretty wild shit going down in the universe right now."

His father raised an eyebrow at his use of language, causing Gohan to wince almost automatically, "Whoops sorry, I mean er, pretty wild crap?"

Goku chuckled, shaking his head before smoothing his hands onto his broad shoulders and looking at him up and down, "That doesn't matter right now. Here, let me look you."

The young saiyan smiled bashfully, feeling rather awkward as the man's obsidian eyes drank in his appearance before he gave him a sad smile back, "You're… you're all grown up without me."

A sharp pang of guilt rippled across his chest, though before he could muster a reply were the rest of the Z-Fighters upon him. His father stepped aside, as they cheered and embraced him, thumping him so hard on the back that it took his breath away. Fingers ruffled his hair as laughter escaped their hearts, euphoria streaming from their lips, and Gohan couldn't help but laugh along with them. Piccolo nodded at him proudly, and even Vegeta gave him a prideful smirk. He caught Videl's eye over Yamcha's head, and felt heat rise to his cheeks as she gave him a cheeky wink.

He had missed this, _them,_ his family. Even though he knew that he would have a lot of explaining to do now that he had revealed himself.

"Who told you that you could get taller than me kiddo?" Krillin chortled, happy tears coursing down his cheeks as he hugged him tightly.

"That was _insane_!" Yamcha spouted, throwing an arm over his shoulder, "The way you took down those monsters without breaking a sweat! How did you get so strong?!"

"I think we'd all like to know that," said Tien, smiling at him, "Care to tell us just where you've been these last eight years, kid?"

"It's a long story," said Gohan with a small chuckle, though he felt as though a stone had dropped into his stomach like a deadweight as they all looked towards him expectantly. They wanted an explanation.

He gulped. He wasn't entirely certain how to handle the situation, he couldn't steer too far away from the truth after all. They had already overheard his conversation with Perses, and would be more than curious to know what all _that_ was about, even though he wanted to protect them from getting involved. Either way, he was still apprehensive to tell them that he was a Destroyer, he had already avoided telling Videl the truth of what he was, and similarly expose he reality of what he was meant to become.

"Well, I'll give you the short version," he started, clearing his throat, "When I died, I didn't end up going to The Otherworld. Instead I was drafted by the Gods to maintain balance in the universe. I ended up going up against other candidates for the position of one of these Gods successors. It was only after I reached a power far beyond what I achieved against Cell and pulling an ancient prophesied sword out of an old stone did they pick me. That was a few years ago now, and I've been training to become this God's replacement ever since."

He watched their reactions carefully, as they looked completely floored by the revelation.

"A G-God?" his father spluttered, his eyes widening, "They want you to become a God?!"

"Y-Yeah," he mustered sheepishly, "I'm really sorry I disappeared. I know that the dragon couldn't find me, and it was because the realm I train and live in is controlled by Gods far beyond Shenron's power. I wasn't allowed to contact you. And I'm sorry if I've disappointed you Dad, but I felt as though it was something that I _had_ to do. Whis, who is an Angel who trains the Gods, said that if I didn't use my power to the best of my ability, achieve this as my destiny, then the universe could collapse in on itself. There would be nothing left, and I care about you all too much to let that happen."

To his surprise, his father pulled him into another hug, which he gladly returned, "I could never be disappointed in you son. I've missed you so much, but I'm _so_ proud of you. I just can't believe it, my son, a God!"

Gohan smiled back, glad of his fathers acceptance, though it was with a heavy heart did he realise he just couldn't bring himself to tell him the entire truth. What he _had_ divulged was true in a way, he had just managed to avoid the part where he destroyed countless civilisations in order to maintain said balance. He couldn't bring himself to to break his heart.

"Gohan isn't just here for a social visit," Piccolo cut across them suddenly, a serious expression upon his features, and for a split second the teenager thought that his old mentor was about to expose him, "If you hadn't noticed Goku, but there is something bigger going on here. That voice, it belonged to Perses didn't it?"

The young saiyan nodded glumly as the Namekian directed his gaze towards him in a questioning manner.

"Wait, who is Perses? Am I missing something here?" asked his father, a deep frown upon his features.

"Someone who used to have my job before he turned into a rampaging psychopath and decided to wipe out half of the universe," Gohan began to explain, "He was captured and imprisoned about a thousand years ago, but now he's gaining back his power, draining it from the Gods. Its my job to fulfil a prophecy about a Super Saiyan God and take him down if needs be. It's the reason why I'm on Earth, I've gathered the dragonballs to ask Shenron about how to achieve this prophesied form, as my mentor believes that the power may be needed to overcome Perses if he does escape, because if that happens, then the entire universe is in danger."

"This is… this is too much," Krillin mustered, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, much resembling the rest of the Z-Fighters.

"So what you're saying is that there's another enemy on the horizon that's after universal domination?" Eighteen scoffed, folding her arms across her chest, "Figures."

"Well yeah," the halfling continued, "But there's no need for you lot to get involved. This is my responsibility."

"I've already told you Gohan, that should the universe be in danger then it involves us too," said Piccolo firmly, "No matter how strong you've become, I won't let you face this threat your own."

The teenager opened his mouth to protest, when his father suddenly cut across them.

"Hold on, you knew?" Gohan blinked, as his father gritted his teeth in anger, positively glaring at the Namekian warrior before him, "You knew Gohan was here and you didn't tell me?!"

A sudden tension filled the air, as he looked back and forth between the two. Piccolo, however, snorted at the man's accusation.

"He's been here over a week, and I confronted him straight away," he told him curtly, his dark eyes narrowing, "It's not my problem that you are so wrapped up in your own problems that you couldn't even recognise your own son."

A sharp intake of breath was heard from the group, as Goku growled back, "I can't believe you. After everything, I can't believe that you would keep this from me Piccolo!"

"He didn't want to be found out," the Namekian shot back, "I simply honoured his request."

"Dad please -," Gohan started, but was surprised when it was Videl who boldly stepped between them, though she kept her voice calm.

"Goku, I knew too," she said, causing the man's eyes to widen in shock, "Vegeta and I both -"

"Tch, don't bring me into this, girl!" Vegeta spat, though the young woman ignored him.

"Gohan didn't mean for any of us to figure it out, but he didn't tell you and made us keep it a secret because he didn't want to hurt you or Chi-Chi. Please don't be mad at Piccolo, he was only trying to help him."

"It's true Dad," said Gohan, stepping next to Videl and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, "I made them promise. I just didn't want to tell you because… because I knew that if I did then it would make it so much harder to go away again."

Goku paused, looking between them before his eyes finally settled on him, "You're not staying?"

The teenager shook his head sadly, "Once I've summoned the dragon and fulfilled the prophecy of a Super Saiyan God then I'll have to leave. I don't belong here now. Surely you can understand that more than anyone, and that my power is needed for much greater things, I'm only doing this to keep those I love safe."

His father beheld him for a moment, "But you know that you'll always have a place here son."

"Thanks Dad," he forced a smile back, "It's nice to know that you'll still have me." He wasn't so certain that it would be the case if they knew the truth.

"Of course we would!" Yamcha exclaimed, confounded, "Now what do you say we head on back to Capsule Corp. and you can tell us some more about what you've been up to since you've been dead!"

"Now that's a good idea! Come to think of it, I'm starving!" Goku laughed heartily, the sound causing Gohan's chest to feel a little lighter, the sudden tension between the Z-Fighters dissipating. "What do you say son?"

He nodded gladly, allowing a smiling Videl to pull him by the arm as they lifted into the air, "Yeah, we can argue about letting us get involved in this fight of yours over a post battle feast."

He shot her a playful glare, as Krillin smiled, "We'd best get a move on before the clean up crews arrive, or the press. I don't even want to begin to imagine how we'd explain this one."

"The kids will probably be worried," said Goku, kicking off from the ground along with them, "Not to mention Bulma and Chi-Chi."

"Oh crap! _Chi-Chi_!" Krillin squeaked, as the other fighters visibly paled, "Goku, I can already sense her at Capsule Corp. with Bulma. You'd better speak to her before she catches sight of Gohan!"

His father giggled, shooting him a sympathetic glance as they flew over the city, "Yeah, I don't want her having a heart attack. Hmm I can sense Ox-King, Roshi and the others there too. They must have dropped by to check on everyone."

"I'll go on up ahead and explain," Goku winked back at him, pressing two fingers to his temple and vanishing out of sight.

Gohan gulped, _fan-frigging-tastic._

Videl reached for his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze that luckily went unnoticed by the others as they flew. He forced another smile back, though his stomach was performing somersaults at the thought of confronting his mother.

All too soon, they arrived at the large domed structure of Capsule Corporation, which to the teenager's surprise and relief found that it had only been partially damaged by the battle that had quite literally shook West City, a few cracks marring the brickwork and a deep crevice cutting the stone-flagged path in half, that led up to the house.

The group of warriors landed swiftly, and no sooner had his boots touched the slightly singed grass did an irate shriek reach his ears.

"WHAT?!"

The Z-Fighters winced, that was Chi-Chi alright.

"Chi-Chi calm down for a sec, just let me explain - !" his father's voice tried desperately, echoing over the garden from the open window, though his attempts to subdue the woman were in vain.

"Calm down?! Calm _down_?!" his mother positively screeched, "You're telling me to calm down when my baby boy is on the other side of that door?!"

"Oh boy," Gohan mustered, as the Z-Fighters shot him knowing grins, and no sooner did he utter the words did the front door almost fly off his hinges and the woman in question barrelled out of the door like a rampaging lioness in search of her lost cub.

Her eyes were wild and feral, her hair falling from her neat bun as she looked around her frantically, before her gaze came to rest on the garbed teenager in the centre of the garden. Videl let go of his hand abruptly, standing off to the side as mother and son knowingly stared at each other for the first time in the best part of a decade.

"B-Beerus what -?" Chi-Chi gasped, her eyes darting to the halo hovering above his head before locking with his gaze once more, "Oh my… you… y-you're Gohan!"

"I-I'm sorry I lied to you Mum," he mustered weakly, as the petite but strong woman thundered towards him, her hands placed angrily on her hips.

"Son Gohan!" she glowered, though a smile tugged at her lips, "I did _not_ bring you up to lie to your mother like that, now did I?!"

"Um, no…" he blinked, a little taken a back.

"And what kind of mother am I? Not to even recognise my own son!" Chi-Chi asked to the heavens, grasping his cheeks in her soft hands and looking lovingly into his eyes, a waterfall of tears escaping her, "Oh my baby boy. Just look at you Gohan! You're so handsome! I-I can't believe it! You're here! You're here!"

She let her hands fall, before grasping him tightly around the neck in a fierce hug, drawing him to her. Gohan sighed, as letting out a breath that he had been holding for years on end, allowing his head to rest on her shoulder, burying his nose in her neck in comfort. She smelled of fabric softener and the cold earth that she'd been digging in the garden that morning, causing his heart to swell and a wave nostalgia to wash over his senses, clutching desperately at his heartstrings. He felt it gnaw at his insides and burn behind his eyes.

And then, for the first time in eight years, did Gohan finally allow his tears to fall.

They were tears that he had held onto for years, subdued and buried deep within himself since the beginning of his Destroyer training. He had always been a sensitive boy, but he had thought that his years of relentless mentors and teachings had finally stamped it out of him. But there was something about being held by his mother, the woman who had given him life holding him just like she had done when he was a little boy that made him feel as though he could finally let go. Even if it was for just a moment. He let go of his worries and fears, allowing them to fall into his mother's embrace so that she could chase away the darkness that clutched him in his most vulnerable moments.

He knew that he probably looked stupid. He was practically a grown man and he was crying into his mothers arms whilst the rest of his family and friends looked on. He felt the raw ache burning at the back of his throat and eyes, as he tried to subdue the tears and snot that were rapidly forming a wet patch on Chi-Chi's sleeve. Though the woman didn't seem to mind, instead she stroked his hair, whispering comforting words into his ear, even though she had to now stand on her tiptoes to do so.

"Shh, it's alright baby," she cooed lovingly, her own voice thick with emotion, "I'm here Gohan. I'm here."

He could have sworn he heard Z blow his nose from where he was nestled in the sheathe on his back.

After a minute or so, the teenager pulled back, wiping the wetness from his eyes and face, flushing in embarrassment as he looked around him. There was barely a dry eye in the garden, and he even spotted his grandfather, Bulma and the rest of the non-fighters of the gang smiling brightly at him from the porch. He had wondered for a moment why the abomination that was Buu hadn't been at the battle, though he could feel his sleeping Ki all the way over in Orange Star City. It was just as well, he didn't want even _more_ people seeing him in such a vulnerable state.

"I missed you Mum," said Gohan gently, "All of you."

"I missed you too, sweetheart," she told him, her onyx eyes still full of tears as she placed a soft hand over the scars on his chest, "My goodness, just what have you been through?"

"Oh you know," he shrugged, giving her a dazzling smile, "Saving the universe."

"You've been fighting?" she asked worriedly.

"Not _all_ fighting," he grinned, "I've studied a lot too. I'm fluent in over a hundred languages, I've learned ancient history, philosophy, astronomy, all sorts really …"

"What really?!" Chi-Chi gaped, her eyes wide with pride and delight.

"Just trying to make you proud," Gohan smiled.

"You'll always make me proud Gohan," she replied lovingly, placing a hand on his cheek, "No matter what you do."

"Thanks Mum," he said as he made to hug her again.

"So you're my big brother?"

Gohan blinked, looking down at the curious looking boy who had approached them. Trunks stood a ways behind Goten with Marron, protectively shielding her as he eyed him sceptically.

"That's right Goten," said Chi-Chi, nodding proudly. "This is your brother, Gohan."

"But aren't you supposed to be dead?" he asked pointedly, "You don't look like a zombie."

" _Goten_!"

"It's alright Mum," Gohan chuckled, before bending down to the little boys height, "Hi bro, this is a little weird, but it's nice to finally meet you properly."

Goten stared back at him with a frown, "Dad said that you've come back to become a God or something and fight a bad guy that wants to take over the universe."

"That's right," he smiled back, trying to get the kid to warm up to him, though it felt a little strained, "I'm sorry I lied to you and pretended I was someone else for a while. But I can tell that you've been doing an awesome job holding down the fort and looking after Mum and Dad whilst I've been gone."

Around him, the gang let out a small chuckle.

"I just wanted to say thanks," said Gohan, holding out a closed fist to the boy, who still appeared to have his reservations about the teen. "You're doing a better job than I could have done."

He was relieved to see Goten smile at that, bumping his fist against his and letting out a small giggle, "Do you want to play superheroes with me, Trunks and Marron, Gohan?"

He grinned, ruffling his spikey hair playfully, "Maybe later squirt, but I've got to talk to the grown ups about something really important first."

His brother's smile faded a little, though he appeared to accept is answer, "Oh, okay…"

"I'll give you something important!" Bulma's voice suddenly assaulted his ears as she approached him, slapping him upside the head, "Do you even _realise_ the damage that you've caused to my security system, young man?!"

The young saiyan winced, as she made to hit him again, "H-how did you know?"

"Goku told us you'd gathered the dragonballs you numpty!" She snarled, gritting her teeth in anger, "I wonder who else could have stolen the dragon radar and _fried_ my circuits! Do you know how long that's going to take me to fix?!"

"I'm sorry Bulma! But it was an emergency!" he cried, cowering behind his mother who was laughing just as hard as the rest of the Z-gang. He had almost forgotten just how scary Bulma could be.

The blue-haired heiress rolled her eyes, "I could never stay mad at you, kid. Now get your sorry behind over here and give me a hug! We've missed you!"

He complied sheepishly, setting off another round of laughter and embracing. He could have sworn that the rather enthusiastic one from his enormous grandfather had cracked a rib or two. He was glad to escape to the confines of the building, where his mother and Launch had set about putting on a magnificent feast in honour of his return. He was certain that his father had informed the rest of the gang that he wouldn't be staying, and that his visit was only temporary, but no one seemed to be paying that fact much attention, and instead continued to celebrate regardless.

After being hounded by the group for a while about his adventures for the last eight years and putting off explaining too much, Gohan made the excuse of needing the bathroom. He slipped away from the group and into the deserted hallway easily, feeling a little overwhelmed by the prospect of his family knowing who he really was. . He leaned up against the wall in the dimly lit hallway, closing his eyes and resting his head against the wall, he couldn't help but worriedly think that they would find out the truth about him eventually if Perses managed to escape. Though he was determined not to get them involved, he wouldn't allow them to get hurt, physically or emotionally. No matter how bad he felt about still lying to them. He had a duty to uphold after all, and only _he_ would bare the burden of his actions.

A sudden presence alerted his senses, and the young saiyan opened his eyes to see Videl slip out into the hallway with him, now changed into a fresh pair of jeans and t-shirt instead of her tattered police uniform.

"Hey," he smiled, genuinely happy to see her, "You okay?"

"I should be asking you that," she replied teasingly, leaning up the wall beside him, "How're you holding up?"

"Alright," he shrugged, prompting the girl to roll her eyes at him.

"What have I told you about bottling things up?" Videl asked, causing him to chuckle.

"It's just… strange, you know? I never thought I'd see them again, and yet -"

"Yet you just saved our backsides by defeating a monster that nearly destroyed us, exposing yourself in the process," she grinned, giving him a pointed look, "Did you have to leave it until the last second by the way? I thought that we were goners."

"Some would call that dramatic flair Ms Satan," Gohan scoffed lightly, folding his arms across his chest.

"It's certainly something alright…"

"Hey!"

"Oh shut up, I'm only teasing," she smirked, before her features suddenly became serious, "You know, you can't avoid talking to them about Perses. Your Dad and the others aren't going to let you get away with not letting them fight that easily."

"Even if it does come to that, it's not their fight," he stated, causing her to frown.

"And Cell was?"

Well, she had him there.

He sighed heavily, his eyes locking with hers, "I may have put on a brave front, but I was actually bricking it. I thought that Perses was going to pop up out of nowhere and start slaughtering everyone. From what I can gather, Perses is on a whole other level to what any of us has faced before."

"So you decided to piss him off even more by teasing him?" Videl quirked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Alright, maybe that _was_ my bad," he admitted, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Not that you just signed your death warrant or anything, or does that still count?"

"Ah it'll be fine," Gohan implored, giving her a cheeky smile.

"Doesn't sound like it from what you've been saying," she sighed, "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm durable enough," he shrugged offhandedly.

Videl scoffed, "You're _dead_!"

"You know, it's not very nice to point out a persons insecurities Videl," the halfling pouted mockingly, prompting her to snort.

"Oh I'm sorry," she said lowly, her voice becoming huskier all of a sudden as she leaned into him, her warm breath tickling his lips and causing him to shudder, "Should I be pointing out how _hunky_ you look in that uniform of yours instead?"

His eyebrows shot to his hairline, though he was relishing in the closeness of her petite body, "I believe that _you_ said that my clothes were weird the first time we met."

"Maybe I changed my mind," she shrugged indifferently, her nose inches from his, "Or lied the first time."

"I'm betting on the latter- ," he smirked, before quickly finding that the rest of his sentence was kissed away by Videl's lips colliding with his and causing him to loose his train of thought.

A sudden fire ignited within him, as he pushed her against the opposite wall, his lips moving feverishly against hers and his tongue invading her mouth. She sighed longingly, her leg moving upwards and pulling his hips against hers, drawing him in between her strong thighs. The exhilarating feeling of her soft body moulding with his enticing a low guttural moan from his throat.

He was quickly loosing himself within her embrace once more. Though he was surprised to find that it felt more fiery and passionate than ever before, and he was certain that it was due to the fact that his emotions were currently all over the place. Videl seemed to be enjoying the reaction she was getting from him, kissing down his neck towards his collarbone and allowing her fingers to tug at the sash that held up his gi trousers.

He shivered at her touch, the laughter and music coming from the living room fading away into the distance. His insistent mouth found her lips again, pushing her even further up the wall and smoothing his calloused hands over her curves before swiftly ducking under her shirt. His gi becoming looser by the second as she gasped in delight. The girl's ministrations was causing his head to cloud with lust, and he was even more willing than ever to let Videl's hands have her way with him when an abrupt scream sounded from the living room, breaking the young halfling out of his trance as several powerful Ki signatures assaulted his senses.

He jolted upright, his face heating up substantially as the reality of what he was about to let Videl do to him in the corridor of Bulma's house hit him like a ton of bricks, _especially_ when all of his estranged friends and family were the other side of the wall. He cleared his throat awkwardly, realising they had got completely carried away as Videl panted, her lips parted and her chest heaving with anticipation. Though she too looked startled by the sudden influx of power coming from the living room. Tightening his sash back up again, he flashed her a guilty grin before taking off back down the corridor, where he could depict a bright silver light glowing from underneath the doorway.

Gohan swore under his breath, Videl hot on his heels as he kicked down the door with a loud clatter, ready to fight when the sight of the six figures standing in the middle of the Briefs' living room caused him to let out an exasperated groan.

"What in Zalama's name are you lot doing here?!" He spouted in distain, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

His father and the rest of the Z-Fighters looked towards him in confusion from where they had gotten into their fighting stances. They must have had quite the shock, as the garbed teenagers had seemingly appeared out of thin air in a brilliant flash of light.

"Aw come off it Sparky! Haven't you missed us?" Makhai grinned, his fanged teeth glinting at him as he threw an arm around his shoulders.

"Like a hole in the head," Gohan scoffed in annoyance, shoving the boy off of him.

"Yeah well we weren't exactly thrilled about coming to this backwater planet either," said Deimos, his beady eyes surveying the Earthlings reproachfully.

"Well thanks for stopping by. No seriously you all must have been wondering why I didn't invite you all around sooner," he growled sarcastically, rather miffed that they had interrupted his _incredibly_ passionate snogging session with Videl. His mood effectively killed. This was all he needed.

"Oh that's enough out of you! Come here!" laughed Alala, the violet-skinned girl embracing him tightly, before allowing a glowing Bia to do the same.

Eris merely punched him lightly in the shoulder with a small smirk, before Gohan frowned, "Why are you all here anyway?"

"Because _you_ are a magnet for trouble!" Kratos spouted hotly, his great hulking stature towering over him, "and as such _we_ are left to pick up the pieces!"

"Oi! That's not fair! I _obliterated_ that gigantic dragon didn't I? Along with hundreds of Perses' minions!" He argued, causing the elder teen to scoff.

"And you caused a complete mess in the process!"

Gohan, along with the Z-gang and the rest of The Supreme Guard followed the tall warrior's gaze out of the window, where he was looking pointedly at the half destroyed city.

"Alright, like less than half of that was me."

"It's completely reckless of you!" Kratos snarled, a vein protruding from his forehead, "We went to planets with _more_ monsters and left the cities intact I'll have you know -."

"And I'll have _you_ know that the city was half destroyed before I got here! Not to mention that I had to deal with Perses," he spat back, causing the group to gasp in horror, "Though not in person mind you, he did speak to me though."

Alala looked towards him anxiously, "But how?"

"By my reckoning he's an excellent telepath," said Gohan, as Deimos nodded beside him.

"He would have to be to be able to reach you from The Void," the green-skinned hellion agreed, "So did you manage to find out how he was managing to drain power from Lord Beerus?"

The halflings eyes widened, "Um…"

"Wait, you spoke to Perses, possibly the most dangerous of all the Gods who is hell bent on unraveling the fabrication of the cosmos and didn't ask him about the one piece of information that could save us?!" Kratos positively seethed.

Gohan winced, "Well, I mean…sort of?"

"SORT OF?!"

"It was a lot to deal with! I was a bit busy calling out the git for decimating an entire city and attacking the rest of the universe!" he snapped back hotly, as the teen cried out in frustration.

"You need to learn to think clearly and control that damned temper of yours!" Kratos yelled, "That piece of information could have been the key to saving the universe from certain annihilation!"

"Oh keep your thong on and stop being so overdramatic Kratos," Makhai drawled, nudging him in the ribs and giving Gohan a wink, "Besides, is that any way to speak to the next Destro- YOWCH!"

The ginger-haired teen grabbed his throbbing foot, hopping on one leg and glaring daggers at his best friend who had just stomped on his toes, before noticing that the entire room was staring at him.

Catching on to Gohan's frantic gaze, Makhai's eyes widened at the sight of the flabbergasted gang in front of them, "Ohhhhhhhh, but I thought that Whis said that you didn't plan on running into your family?"

The young Destroyer snorted, "Well _obviously_ that plan backfired, now didn't it?"

"Um, Gohan?" his father asked wearily, "Who are all these people?"

"Oh sorry," the halfling smiled sheepishly, "These are my friends. Makhai, Alala, Bia, Eris, Deimos and Kratos."

Each member bowed respectfully as he introduced them, the young Alala waving at them enthusiastically.

"Eh hem, _best_ friend I'll have you know," Makhai interjected, puffing out his chest proudly and causing the dark-haired Eris to roll her eyes.

"No one cares Makhai."

" _You're_ just jealous that I almost spend as much time dreaming about him than I do you my dark princess," he replied, wriggling his eyebrows at her.

"Oh shut up, you peasant," Eris scoffed, though failed to hide her amusement as she shook her head at him.

" _Anyway_ ," Gohan drawled, cutting across them, "They are members of The Supreme Guard. The Supreme Kai's special forces if you like, they are drafted by the Gods to help protect the universe from chaos, evil and imbalance."

The Earthlings eyes widened as they stared at the Guard in awe and Goten, Trunks and Marron gasped in childish wonder at their gold and navy blue robes that weren't all too dissimilar to Gohan's. However, their garbs bore the Kai's symbol on the breast rather than Whis' and was closed by golden buttons at the front. The cloak was long and paired with white gi trousers, though was absent of the black sash that Gohan wore between his legs.

"Wow, my son, a protector of the universe," Goku grinned proudly, shaking his head in disbelief and causing the Guard to frown - though they seemed to catch on, "But why is your uniform so different to everyone else's kiddo?"

Gohan sweated, though was thankfully saved by Makhai.

"Oh that's because Gohan here is our leader," the teen smiled brightly, causing Kratos to scoff, "He's the most powerful out of all of us, so he has the pleasure of training with higher beings like our universe's Angel. Unlike us he'll be a proper deity one day, and we his lowly minions!"

"Stop it! You're not my minions!" the young saiyan growled in annoyance.

"Yes your mightiness! Please don't smite me!" Makhai yelped, covering his face and collapsing to the ground dramatically, causing Gohan to roll his eyes and the others to laugh around him.

"He's just teasing you," said Alala, explaining further, "Despite divine hierarchy, Gohan is still one of us, and has been protecting the universe for years. He's saved my life and everyone else's here countless times."

"It's not like that," The teenager blushed, as the gang grinned back at him. "I'm just doing whatever you would do for me."

"Oh _please_ , we're not here to fawn over you." Deimos drawled, turning to him and ignoring Makhai's outburst of ' _I am!'_ , "We came to tell you that Whis requests your presence quite urgently, and that we are to stand guard over Earth whilst you do so, lest Perses or any of his creatures try to destroy it whilst you're gone."

"Oh right," Gohan blinked, thinking for but a moment that Whis and Lord Beerus actually cared about what happened to his loved ones. Though the reality most likely was that they didn't want the dragonballs to get destroyed before they had a chance to use them, "I suppose I'll be off then. Is Whis sending The Warp along?"

"No actually," Kratos interjected said rather smugly, "I've mastered my own teleportation technique, whereby I can actually teleport anyone and anything across the cosmos without accompanying them."

"Whatever Kratos, your _own_ technique?" Makhai scoffed, "You totally nicked it off of The Supreme Kai!"

"You're just jealous because you couldn't do it!"

"Oh please, must we argue?" tutted Bia, a sudden calmness encompassing them as Eris, Alala and Deimos snorted behind them, "Now Kratos, don't you think you should teleport Gohan before Whis or Zalama forbid _Lord Beerus_ get fed up of waiting?"

A tinge of pink marred Kratos' cheeks, before he grunted, hovering a hand over the young saiyan's chest.

"Don't worry, I'll just be reporting back to my mentors about what's transpired here on Earth no doubt," the teenager quirked, turning to his his friends and family who looked rather worried. "I'll be back before you know it!"

They smiled back, though an ominous feeling suddenly encompassed him as he stared at Kratos' hand that begun to glow silver, "Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this?"

"Prepare yourself," he smirked back, causing the halfling to frown.

"For what - ? AHHHHHH!" He cried, as a bright light suddenly engulfed him and he felt as though his entire body was being squeezed through a very narrow tube.

The Briefs' brightly lit living room, along with his friends shocked faces warped and disappeared from view, and his vision went completely black. His ribs ached and he felt as though he couldn't breathe. Though as soon as he thought that he was about to pass out did it stop, and the young saiyan found himself crashing onto the ground in a heap, looking up at a familiar amber sky and two smirking deities.

"The next time I see Kratos, I'm going to _destroy_ him!" Gohan spouted angrily, picking himself up from the ground and scowling at his crumpled garb.

"What have I told you about threatening the Kais Guard?" Whis sighed, "It's not proper to terrorise other entities of divine nature you know."

"Well maybe someone should have told Kratos that before he decided to fling me half way across the universe!" he spat, folding his arms across his chest in a huff, though he felt rather sick, "Ugh, I feel as though I was just squeezed out of a toothpaste tube."

"Ah yes, the Kai's teleportation technique is rather uncomfortable," his mentor nodded, giving him a sympathetic look, "Do you need a fresh pair of underwear?"

"What?! No!" Gohan growled in embarrassment, causing the Angel to chuckle.

"Well I'm just saying that Lord Beerus needed a pair when he used that mode of transportation for the first time, you're doing a right side better than him."

The teenager pulled a disgusted face, "Gross."

"SHUT UP!" Lord Beerus fumed, his face red with anger, "Can we just hurry up and leave already? I'd like to get this over with."

"Leave?" the young saiyan blinked in confusion, "Are we going somewhere?"

"I'll explain on the way," said Whis, readying his staff, "We will need to pick up The Supreme Kai and Kibito first."

"Does this have to do with Perses?" he asked worriedly, prompting Lord Beerus to scoff, he seemed rather flustered for some reason.

"Of course it does, now get a move on this is an urgent matter," he griped, standing beside Whis, grinding his teeth together in agitation. "We don't want to keep The Grand Minister waiting."

"W-what?!" Gohan gaped, "What are we going to see The Grand Minister for?"

"I told you that I'd explain," Whis sighed somewhat haughtily, "Now please don't dawdle Gohan, the Gods from the other universes are already gathering at the palace."

He swallowed the lump that had appeared in his throat. His superiors looked incredibly serious, and the teenager could only reason as to why. The Grand Minister, or Grand Priest or father of Angels as he was known, was the almighty Grand Zeno's right hand. He watched over the affairs of the entire multiverse, and from Gohan's textbooks, he was depicted as one of the top five most powerful entities in the cosmos.

Whis seemed to read his thoughts, his violet eyes surveying him, "I don't think that I need to tell you that you need to watch that temper of yours and behave yourself during this meeting. Though we will discuss your little discrepancy with Perses on the way."

He winced at his mentor's words. Though he couldn't help but think that the whole thing was incredibly unusual. It was rare for the Kais and Destroyers from separate universes to hold meetings after all, save for a co-ordination meeting that was held every millennia. One that he was certain wasn't due for a few centuries or so.

Realisation hit him like a freight train, his eyes widening in horror.

Were they going to discuss Perses at the meeting?! Was the ex-Junior-Destroyer really so powerful that they had to get _The Grand Minister_ involved? If that really was the case, then it only solidified the belief that the corrupt divine being was more of a bigger threat to the entire multiverse than he had originally thought.

And he, a Junior Destroyer only eight years in the making - one that had taken his old job no less, had just threatened him.

 _Shit_.

* * *

 _6th February, 2019._

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 **Reviews:**

MadmanJrs: Thank you so much for your review! Haha Gohan is so cheeky! I really wanted to capture that in his reveal. Like do this HUGE DRAMATIC entrance and down play it. Because Gohan is showy, but he doesnt realise it. Which is even cooler. Gah! I wish I could give you more info about where I'm taking Gohan and Videl's relationship, but alas I'm just going to be mean and keep you in suspense. I am so excited to see it develop. As you can see, Gohan is finding it harder and harder to resist her and its getting a little but more serious now ;) Really glad you like Vegeta and Goku's characterisation. Its EXACTLY what I was aiming for. I thought that their rivalry wouldnt be as great what with Goku remaining alive in my story, as they would get to fight all the time. and Vegeta would certainly pull Goku out of his slump.

Knightwing20042 : I don't have an update schedule unfortunately as Im sure you've gathered by now! Mainly because I work 13 hour shifts that change all the time and I have an ageing family that need a lot of TLC. so I try to update when I can. sometimes when I have more time they will be days in between other times like this chapter its a few weeks.

romanovascap: :O :O :O

Dan2018 : thanks for your review. As for Zamasu helping Perses, a few people have pointed this out! Though I aint sayin nothin xD

TheRangerBoy: haha love your review! thanks! sorry for tourturing you! hope this chapter made up for it!

Readallday1243 : its sort of my version, as the DB timeline has changed drastically with Gohan's absence. Though I am and still intend on drawing heavily from super!

hawkeyestratos1996: Not necessarily, as in my version of the story they still dont know what a SSG is yet or how to achieve it. I like keeping the ritual in the process of the transformation, also, sorry dont hate me but I never really liked the SS4 transformation, and Im not even going there with SS5 haha

keyblademeister88: haha thank you so much for your review! glad you enjoyed the last chapter!

BloodySS2God : thanks so much! yeah I tried to make the nightmare as less cringey as possible whilst still getting the point across, though Im glad you loved the rest!

dspendragon125 : I totally blue balled you im sorry! haha

Leafeon12 : thank you!

Zeromaru Chaos Mode: I listened to it, it totally fits!

Iwik: ahh I'm so glad you enjoyed it! and happy you got the saiyaman reference in there!

Crodog12 : Excellent observation on the dream! haha! Glad you enjoyed it and got it! As for Beerus life cycle ending and Gohan not becoming the next Destroyer so soon... well... they still would be searching for someone to take over. remember Perses was chosen for role long before Gohan and THEN went crazy? food for thought!

Beepx22: thank you glad youre enjoying the journey!

x2leoj : thanks! glad you liked to reveal and I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and bad ass Gohan!

victor0606 : thank you!

Shirai Ryu dog: i have been asked this before, I am not going to give Videl a role of a God so that she can be with Gohan. Gohan has been chosen to be the next destoryer, thats all the Gods care about, thems the rules unfortunately! And Videl, although strong, does not have the same potential as Gohan.

SierraLarson: yes! I DID picture the monster as Hirudegarn! great minds!

R.E.O19 : i know im so mean!

nightsrevelation : wow thank you so much for this review! it really means the world XD!

EleazarTheUnforgotten: im so glad you liked the suspense! I also think I did break several laws with that cliffhanger haha

FireEmblemMaster101: absolutley spot on with Vegeta's Majin, and also I wanted to make a more substantial effect on Gohan with just Goku being effected. thanks for much for your review!

NinjaFang1331: thank you!

Aaron Leach: thanks!

Scarlet WebSlinger: ooo I have two now! haha i am loving these intros! thank you!

RayQ Cina : hmmm now what do you think? Super Saiyan Rose according to Goku Black is super saiyan God mixed with divine Ki right? ;)

Chosen To Die: haha thank you so much! hope you enjoyed badass Gohan in this chapter! I LOVE HIM SO *sobs*

Thomas-The-TMC: laughs manically

RedDragonforce 1 : haha thanks ALOT of SSG's if I do that, but hey at this point for huge fight scenes im not ruling anything out. as for how SSG is achieved welllllll youre just gonna have to wait to find out! and thanks once again for the narration! xD

Lawrence HBain : teeeechically he still does in a way, as remember Perses had Gohans job before!

Reacted: YAY!

Marbbles123: thank you! xD

Animelover XD: sorry for the long update, I hope I didnt disappoint!

DragonCrusader : they may, eventually learn what type of God gohan is to become, but for now he will keep THAT a secret ;)

dolguldur: thank you!

Viscides : haha sorry!

RabbitMelody : oops!

FeathersofMemory: thank you so much! im glad you enjoyed it and liked all the different POV, i was worried that it would be jarring for some but I am very happy with how it turned out!

Domhnall : haha thank you so much! I love dishing out the feels!

Gelid : VEGETA YES!

dark princess: thank you :)

Guest: I will 100% complete this fanfiction, when however and how many chapters there will be is still up in the air at present. As for SSG and ultra instinct, I have already mentioned both so far in this story so you will have to wait and see ;)

antipodean: yay good to hear! thankyou!

Guest: thank you!

ChilledSparksurfer: wow thank you so much for this and your compliments, you have no idea how much it means!

Dragonreader1234: thank you! Gohan will not disappoint!

Marbbles123: I hoped you liked Krillin's reaction, I did in fact want to get an emotional reaction from him. He has been there for Gohan through so much and Krillin really truly cares about him, not just because he is his best friends son but because he truly loves and respects him xD

thepurplebear: thanks so much! haha a few people have picked up on this but more will be revealed!

Erin: haha thanks for both of your chapter reviews! Im glad you enjoyed the kissing scenes and I'll be more than happy to answer your questions. 1) as for the dragonballs being inhert and stone, I actually researched this and couldnt find any evidence to suggest that they turned to stone before they could be used again - ONLY when Piccolo or Kami - or now I suppose Dende dies. Same with Guru on Namek. so I thought screw it I'll have them be orange and shiny! 2) Namekian Dragonballs were mentioned by Gohan before he was sent to Earth, though Beerus and Whis scoffed at this and thought that the orbs were too sacred and it would be a grievous misuse of them. They obviously hold the Namekian dragonballs in higher regard, I like to think because Kami created the Earth ones as a 'copy' so to speak. I have thought about this alot, and promise that further lore about the dragonballs will be explored in later chapters so once all is said and done itll make a bit more sense!

reeseisthatbeast: totes Hakai'd that big git. and as for Gohan and Videl's relationship, I think everyone is holding out for it at this point! xD

aSleepyPenguin: there is a pairing in the description, and romance will be dotted throughout this story!

blazestarre: :O :O your review is INSANE. the fact that you have been discussing it with a co-worker and got them hooked on it to absolutely blows my mind! thank you so much, it makes me so happy and similarly puts more pressure on me to get this story right! haha! seriously, thank you from the bottom of my geeky heart. keep coming back! xD

FF-loverHP1: xD

MrChuckMan: thank you so much, there will be more exploration into Gohan and Perses characteristics as the story continues ;)

Justanotheridiot: promise!

andreaswf : glad you enjoyed it!

Just another fan : thank you!

Bmehok03: there will be much more development to Gohan's power in this story, dont worry about that! as for Broly, at this point im not entirely sure he will fit in, but im not ruling things out just yet :)

Guest: thank you :)

romeroFan: wow thank you so much for your review! really glad youre enjoying it! xD it makes me so happy when my writing is so well received! yay for badass Gohan! I completely agree that what Toriyama did to him was so unfair. In my mind they still could have made him a scholar and still a massive badass when he needed to be. Glad he got some action in the ToP but not as much as I wanted to see. er transformation anyone? sigh... still thanks so much! xD

Memelover : thank you! :)

Nyeh : I wont be stopping until the end dont worry, I am so excited for this story! xD

 _Guest : that means so much, thanks! :)_

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 _A/N: I really hope you guys enjoyed this Chapter, holy hell that took me AGES to get through those reviews! Loved them, keep them coming! :) ES x_


	19. Twelve Universes

_A/N: Hello hello my lovely loyal readers! You are not imagining this update, it is not a drill! So as I know you have noticed that I have been absent for a while... eek so sorry about that btw, basically a lot of drama going on right now in my real world and I literally have not had the time/energy to finish up this chapter. It has literally been sat at 3/4 done for the best part of a month or so, and I just couldn't bring myself to post something that was undeserving of your reading and unfinished. I have instead ploughed forwards and finished this up for you! I don't want to burden you or make excuses of a sob story, but basically my parents are getting a very messy divorce after 37 years of marriage, my best friend has been threatening preterm birth all month (baby boy now safely in the world thank goodness! I'm now a godmother for the 4th time yaaay!) along with older relatives in and out of hospital, getting a mortgage stress and my own ongoing health issues it has been one hell of a year so far!_

 _Either way, I just want to assure you my dears that there is NO WAY I am abandoning this story, I love it so much and it is such a joy to write! Unfortunately due to everything thats going on at the moment, I have no idea of a time scale or a timetable, as I'm sure you can imagine my life is pretty unpredictable at the moment! But honestly, you guys are amazing and thank you so much for baring with me and for your continued support and patience. Seriously, I am so happy with how the last chapter was received, I nearly cried whilst writing the last chapter, especially the scenes between Goku and Chi-Chi and how Gohan's funeral went. Didn't help that I was listening to Hamilton at the time... WHY?! I was so worried that it wouldn't be liked or too emotional or done in poor taste, but I was ultimately happy how I executed it, and your reviews nearly made me cry all over again! So truly, really, thank you. :)_

 _On that note, I am just going to say that I have had to delete a few guest reviews recently - now, I don't usually do this but I will not tolerate trolls or online bullying of any kind. It will be ignored and therefore deleted. Don't get me wrong I am all for constructive criticism as I believe it helps me as a writer and maybe think oh I'll look at that more in the future. For example, commenting on someones hard work and saying 'this is sh*t' over and over isn't helpful or productive in any way. Also mean and unnecessary. It won't be tolerated. Therefore not published! (Y). Also I have already explained the British thing, its in the very first chapter people, think of it as a translation if it bothers you so much! I mean, if I was Spanish I may choose to write in Spanish - doesn't mean the characters are! For those who liked the fact that Gohan called Piccolo a 'git', carry on! xD_

 _Phew, now we've got all that out of the way... THANK YOU so so so much you wonderful humans! Please continue to review they really do mean so much, I am sorry again about the appalling lateness of this chapter. Enjoy! I really sincerely hope it was worth the wait! ES x_

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 ** _And now a recap from RedDragonforce 1..._**

 ** _Narrator's voice:_** _Last time... a familiar scene! Deja Vu strikes as once again Gohan faces a threat that has left the Z-Fighters out of the fight. A tearful reunion with Family ensued after Gohan's brutal beatdown and proper finish off of the monster responsible. ("You'll always make me proud," said Chi Chi, "No matter what you do.") With Perses' presence ever growing, the Multiverse's top Deities are called to a meeting. (We don't want to keep the Grand Minister waiting," said Whis.) Gohan is about to be in the presence of Grand Zeno. What will happen? Find out next on... Son Gohan the Destroyer._

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 **Chapter Nineteen**

 **Twelve Universes**

 **xxxx**

 **Grand Zeno's Palace, Far Above The Multiverse**

Gohan could feel the nerves emitting from both The Supreme Kai and Lord Beerus, rolling off them in waves, a sense of unease radiating towards him and causing a thick tension to fill the air. He had never thought that he would see the usually cocky and dangerous Destroyer look so intimidated. The sweat was practically pouring from his brow, his jaw locked tightly shut as they appeared in a flash of light before the magnificent palace. Even though he hadn't had many dealings with Shin, he couldn't help but notice how his face had grown several shades paler as he chewed on the inside of his cheek with an anxious expression.

The young saiyan's ears were still ringing, mainly due to Lord Beerus yelling at him for a solid twenty minutes on their journey to The Sacred Ream of The Kais. Though because Grand Zeno's residence was so far away - the distance amounting to several days of high-speed travel, the Supreme Kai had teleported them the rest of the way, much to his displeasure and discomfort.

Alright so _maybe_ he had acted a little rashly taunting Perses like that, but he wasn't going to just sit back and let the evil git get away with spouting such rubbish about Gods and mortals alike, especially after unleashing a rampaging monster upon his home world.

Still sulking from his scolding, he was now standing dutifully behind the two deities along with Kibito, who looked even more terrified than Shin, to the point where his hands were shaking even when he tried to clasp them tightly together behind his back. Only Whis seemed to be emitting a calm presence, placing himself at Lord Beerus' side as he looked up at the floating castle in front of them with a casual elegance that could only come from the Angel.

Several stories high, with large windows and a tiled roof, the Omni-King's home was certainly grand. It was situated in a rather strange place, nestled atop a giant blue jellyfish in the middle of what he could only presume was part of space, as he could depict several galaxies winking at him in the distance - at least he _thought_ they were galaxies. The jellyfish floated above fluffy yellow clouds that much resembled the ones in The Otherworld, and from where he stood in the large courtyard of the castle, he counted twelve smooth stones that were neatly lined up in an upright fashion near the entrance way.

His eyes widened in disbelief, catching sight of the twelve spherical orbs hovering above the solid grey stones, swirling with sparkling stars and multicolour - were those _universes_?

The young Junior Destroyer couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive too, his stomach twisting into knots at the sheer magnitude of the place. This was where Grand Zeno _lived_ for goodness sake, the creator and ruler of the entire cosmos. It was a lot to wrap his head around, and the ancient textbooks back in the common room had certainly not prepared him for such a concept. Though there was no time to compose himself, as one by one did bright bursts of light erupt all around him, and Gods and Angels from the other eleven universes materialised in the middle of the courtyard.

Gohan blinked, he wasn't entirely sure just what he had been expecting, but he was similarly in awe of the deities before him. The Gods of Creation, with pointed ears and white hair, all looked rather similar to one another. They were dressed in the same colourful robes as his universe's Kai, though some were rather portly and stocky, and others were skinny and petite, one even sporting a pair of red-rimmed reading glasses. Some core attendants had accompanied them, much like Kibito, though others had travelled with their Destroyers and Angels alone.

Now the Gods of Destruction were a whole other sight to behold. Not only did he feel as though their enormous Ki's had just punched him straight in the gut, did he notice that they came in all different shapes and sizes, and appeared to be part of different races. It was obvious really, seen as the Destroyers were previously mortal turned deity - just as he was fated to become. He looked around him apprehensively, his onyx eyes darting between the Gods who wore uniform similar to Lord Beerus, albeit with different colouring. He had never seen a group so diverse, one Destroyer even looked like a robot!

The pressure from their combined energy was unreal, and he had a bit of trouble steadying himself as his knees shook from the sudden force of their appearance. Even some of the Kais emitted an unbelievably strong Ki, much stronger than the seventh universe's Supreme Kai. The Angels were all blue skinned and dark robed like Whis, though appeared to vary in age, one Angel standing next to her Destroyer (who resembled a pink humanoid elephant of all things) didn't look much older than Alala. Though given that his friend was over three-hundred years old, Gohan certainly knew better than to guess someones age solely based on their appearance.

It was also with great trepidation did he realise that there was no one dressed in the same ceremonial garb as he, meaning that there wasn't another Junior Destroyer - or so he could only presume.

"Oi Beerus!"

Gohan turned abruptly, the sound of the sudden voice breaking him out of his thoughts as it carried over the busy courtyard.

"Oh great," Lord Beerus drawled next to him in annoyance, just as a portly figure elbowed his way through the crowd. "Just what we need."

The teenager gaped in shock as the purple-skinned deity approached them, it looked as though Lord Beerus had eaten _another_ Lord Beerus!

"Greetings Lord Champa," Whis said politely, bowing his head respectfully.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," The deity huffed, rather heavily, as he directed a nasty smirk towards Lord Beerus.

He was a Destroyer God, Gohan observed, judging by the attire that matched his predecessor, though the uniform was red in parts instead of blue like Beerus'. He was short and fat, with a large rounded belly that strained against the waistband of his gi trousers, his flabby chins wobbling as he spoke. He had barged past Gohan and The Supreme Kai without so much as paying them a second glance, his short stumpy tail waving around behind him in a taunting manner, as he positively glowered at his fellow Destroyer.

"How _lovely_ to see you brother," he snarled, though his eyes were almost gleeful, "I daresay that I thought I smelled something _fishy_ when we were summoned here by The Grand Minister. I should have known that it had your name written all over it!"

"B-brother?!" Gohan blurted, causing the chubby Destroyer to turn to him in annoyance.

"What's it to you, shortie?" he spat, causing the halfling to scowl.

Shortie? He had some nerve, _he_ was shorter than him! Even though Gohan had grown significantly taller since he first started on his path towards divinity, he didn't take too lightly about people making comments about his height. It brought back memories of being called 'shortie' and 'half-pint' way back when he was still a recruit, though he refused to admit that he had developed some sort of complex - as much as The Supreme Guard, Whis and even Lord Beerus had hinted at it.

"Now, now my Lord," a tall Angel with a long flowing ponytail of white hair interjected, "Do calm yourself, you'll only get your blood pressure up again."

"Be quiet Vados!" Lord Champa snapped, though thankfully Whis cut across him before he burst a blood vessel.

"How nice to see you, dear sister," the Angel smiled, "It has been quite some time."

"Indeed, several centuries in fact," nodded Vados, before turning to Gohan with a small curtsey, "I see you have a new Junior Destroyer."

"This is Son Gohan," Whis informed her rather proudly, as the teenager nodded his head respectfully, "Gohan, these are the deities from Universe Six. My sister Vados, Lord Champa the Destroyer - who is Lord Beerus' twin brother, and you can see The Supreme Kai Fuwa and his attendant standing over there."

Gohan looked behind them, where he spotted a pot-bellied, green-skinned Kai standing a ways off, conversing with his long faced attendant, who didn't look too happy to be here.

"Er, nice to meet you," he said with a polite smile, turning to his predecessor who was busy glaring daggers at Lord Champa, "You didn't tell me that you had a brother."

Lord Beerus growled back at him, "Know your rank kid, I don't have to tell _you_ anything!"

"I was only saying," Gohan griped with a roll of his eyes, "There's no need to get your knickers in a twist."

Lord Champa was floored by the halfling's words, his mouth hanging open in shock, "Such _insolence_! No wonder the seventh universe is going to the dogs. I would never allow _my_ Junior Destroyer to speak to me like that!"

"And just where is this successor of yours?" Lord Beerus spat back, his cheeks burning crimson with embarrassment and anger, "Time is ticking, Champa. You forget that we are the same age, and that your time as a Destroyer is coming to an end also."

The chubby God scoffed, "I'll have you know that I've got plenty of candidates lined up that would put your little brat to shame!"

"Is that so?" he replied, raising an eyebrow mockingly, "Well I think that you're just biding your time on purpose because you can't bare to lose your title. That, and warriors from the sixth universe fail to measure up to the might of a God. Perhaps the potential is particularly sparse in the sixth."

"Is that what you think?" Lord Champa spouted hotly, before smirking once more, "Though I suppose you're right, it certainly is difficult to measure up to my awesome and illustrious reputation! Remind me brother, just how many disciples have _you_ gotten through in the last millennia? Says a lot about you I'd wager!"

"Oh shut your face God of glutton!" Lord Beerus retorted.

"Why _you -!"_

"Oh dear, not this again," Vados sighed, as the two Destroyers continued to bicker.

"This has happened before?" Gohan quirked, hardly believing what he was witnessing.

"Every time they get together I'm afraid," Whis informed him helplessly, "Quarrelling is one thing, though we do have to be careful if they start to exchange blows. When two fully fledged Destroyers fight, it can wipe out a universe. Namely the sixth and seventh respectively in their case. It is one of the greatest taboos of the cosmos to have two Destruction Gods fight."

"But how can two brothers become Gods of Destruction in separate universes anyway?" he asked, "I thought that you could only be chosen from your own universe."

"Ah not necessarily my boy," said the Angel, "For you see both Lord Beerus and Lord Champa are from the seventh universe. They died many billions of years ago in a great battle that waged across both universes. During this long war, The Supreme Kais from both universes were killed in the crossfire, which in turn caused the Destroyers of the sixth and seventh to die along with them due to their life link. Lord Beerus was successfully chosen to become our universe's Destroyer, and naturally, as competitive as they were, Lord Champa jumped at the chance to take up the mantle of the God of Destruction of Universe Six.

Things generally occur in pairs, so for everything there exists a corresponding counterpart. The sixth and seventh are twin universes, incredibly similar to one another, and as I'm sure you already know from your studies, that any universes that make up to the number thirteen are considered natural counterparts. This made Lord Champa's transition to another part of the multiverse rather easy, there was certainly a lot less paperwork for a start."

The halfling gaped, his eyes wide at the revelation. "And they still hate each other? After all that time?"

"Hate is a strong word my young Lord," Vados chuckled whimsically at him, "Although their fights over the years have threatened to unravel the seams of their respective universes on more than one occasion. Now instead they have a simple food eating competition by order of Grand Zeno himself every few centuries or so, lest they want to be wiped from existence. Though I have to say that this newest endeavour hasn't been all that kind to Lord Champa's cholesterol levels."

"Oh stop your yapping over there! I can barely hear myself think, let alone come up with a good comeback!" Lord Champa snarled, drawing their attention as he directed his gaze towards the young saiyan, "And _you_ boy! What's with all the damned questions? I didn't know that Beerus' ward was so nosy!"

"Ah he's just curious Champa!" came a cool and collected voice, a slender white hand clapping the God on the shoulder.

It seemed that the brother's spat had caught the other deities interest, as a lanky Destroyer with a clown-painted face and frizzy orange hair smirked at them. Gohan was suddenly glad that he had never developed a phobia of clowns as a child, though had it been Frieza standing there it might have been a different story altogether - the thought alone was enough to make his skin crawl.

"Universe Six and Seven are linked in a number of unusual ways after all," the divine being continued with a wink, prompting Lord Champa to scoff before turning to Gohan thoughtfully, "So this is the seventh's new Junior Destroyer. Hmm, I've heard the rumours, but I wasn't sure if it was true…"

The teenager frowned, as the strange clown God rapped his knuckles lightly on the Z-Sword that was tucked into the scabbard on his back.

 _"Oi! Hands off the merchandise!"_ Z growled, though no one else could hear him.

"Hn, you don't look all that strong to me," he said again, causing Gohan's frown to deepen. Though he couldn't help but notice Whis softly giggle behind him, as a beautiful young woman with braided hair and a headdress approached - she too baring the ceremonial garb of a Destroyer.

"I don't know Vermoud, looks can be deceiving," she said with a sultry smile, looking the teenager up and down, undressing him with her eyes, "Oddly, I find him rather fetching."

"Oh do calm yourself Jerez," Lord Vermoud chortled as the halfling failed to hide his blush, "You're going to scare off the poor kid."

"When you've all _quite_ finished hounding my successor," Lord Beerus interrupted hotly, his right eye twitching in annoyance.

They stepped back, though continued to eye the young saiyan curiously as the Destroyer spoke again.

"I have a mind to ask where your Junior Destroyer is Vermoud," he smirked, "Don't tell me that the trials of the eleventh universe have ended his existence already?"

"Hardly," the clown-like deity scoffed, though he seemed to be enjoying the banter, "Top is busy with The Pride Troopers. It ain't right to pull him off a mission with such short notice."

Lord Beerus snorted, as Gohan whispered up to Whis, "What's The Pride Troopers?"

"An elite motley crew of Universe Eleven's most valiant warriors, much like our Supreme Guard. " he told him, "The Junior Destroyer, Top, is their leader."

Interested, he was about to open his mouth to ask more about this elite hero team, when a sudden voice cut through their chatter, booming around them and causing all the deities to look towards the entrance to the castle, bowing immediately at the sight of the small figure in front of them.

Gohan stared, confused by the sudden appearance of the young boy. He was blue-skinned, with white hair that was slicked back neatly against his skull. He wore a deep blue, long sleeved uniform that was clasped together by an orange belt with a golden buckle, the ancient symbol for ' _Great_ ' etched into the shiny metal. He gasped, as the thin blue halo hovering behind his head much resembled the Angel's present, only theirs hung around their necks.

"Welcome friends, and thank you for coming," the boy spoke, sounding much older than he looked, giving them a warm smile.

This was The Grand Minister, Gohan realised. He was rather shocked, he looked like a kid! And this was supposed to be Whis' _father_?!

He was struck out of his thoughts, as he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head. He yelped, locking eyes with the perpetrator of such a hit. Lord Beerus was giving him a deathly glare, his eyes wide and frantic as he bowed.

" _Bow, you idiot!"_ Z cried, as the halfling felt several pairs of eyes burning into him, " _Honestly, what disrespect!"_

"S-sorry," he hissed, quickly dropping to his knees next to The Supreme Kai and Kibito, who were both sweating profusely, giving him exasperated looks as he bowed his head, his nose almost kissing the floor.

Though just when he thought that the Minister hadn't noticed, did a small chuckle escape his lips, "Ah Whis, I see you've brought along the next in line to become your universe's Destroyer."

The teenager visibly flinched, looking up at the father of Angels sheepishly.

"Why yes, Grand Minister," said Whis, tipping his own head in respect, though like the rest of the Angels, he remained standing. "I thought it only fitting to do so."

"I see," the higher deity observed, "I must say that I was quite surprised when you hand picked an eleven year old half-saiyan as a candidate to become the next God of Destruction for the seventh. Though it seems as though your hard work has been paying off, he has certainly grown."

Gohan could feel every pair of eyes turn towards him sceptically, and all he wanted to do was to let the ground swallow him whole, when his mentor spoke up again.

"That may be the case," he replied wisely, "Though he is aware that he still has much growing to do."

"Quite," The Grand Minister noted lightly, his eyes lingering on the halfling for a moment longer before addressing the Gods once more, "Come everyone, follow me. I have already prepared the meeting room."

Whispers seemed to follow Gohan as they obeyed dutifully, floating upwards and entering the grand building. Hundreds - possibly _thousands_ of white marble pillars stood out against a pitch black backdrop that seemed to stretch for miles. He tried to wrap his head around the concept that the castle was somehow larger on the inside, the sound of their footsteps echoing around them on the brightly glowing floor as they followed behind the esteemed deity. The interior of the palace was just as ominous as the outside, and he got a rather eerie feeling from the place, the air thick with a strange pressure that threatened to overwhelm him if he didn't concentrate. Though he couldn't help but think it was due to his divine training that he was even able to handle it in the first place, for he had certainly read of places where normal mortals could not step foot in for want of going mad or even disintegrating on the spot.

"Forgive me, Grand Minister," a yellow-skinned Kai asked tentatively, his anxious tone carrying off the non-existent walls, "But is the gracious Omni-King attending this meeting also?"

The rest of the deities sucked in a nervous breath at his words, and Gohan noticed that this Creation God looked a little older than the rest, with deep wrinkles lining his forehead and mouth.

"Goodness no, my dear Gowasu of the tenth," the head Angel chuckled softly, prompting the group to let out a collective sigh of relief, "Grand Zeno is far too busy. And I think it not proper to involve the Omni-King in trivial matters of the multiverse."

The young saiyan couldn't help but frown at his words, he didn't see anything trivial about the matter of Perses. Though before he could dwell on the fact any further, did the group come to a halt in front of a large oak doorway that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

The Grand Minister directed them into a grand conference room, encompassed by four bright white walls that were so tall that he couldn't see where they met the ceiling, a dark abyss hanging above them. The floor was transparent, and it appeared that the room itself was floating in the middle of space, a swirl of vibrant coloured stars and galaxies at their feet. The other Gods didn't appear to be phased by such a spectacle, instead casually taking their seats at a long marble table that gleamed just as brightly as the walls surrounding them. Shining, silver goblets filled with a deep red liquid that he presumed was some sort of wine was situated at each placing, along with a large set of golden tipping scales at the centre. The scales ticked and whirred in motion, maintaining a subtle balance with a strange violet smoke filtering from the metallic plates.

It took a second for him to notice that the high-backed chairs were numbered one through twelve, the numerals carved into the marble, representing each universe. They looked like small thrones rather than regular chairs, and there appeared to be one for every Kai and Destroyer, the Angels and attendants standing dutifully behind them.

"There's one for you too, brat," Lord Beerus stated, nudging him lightly in the ribs and directing his attention to a seat to his right numbered ' _7_ '.

Surprised, the young Destroyer quickly plonked himself down on the comfy scarlet cushion on his seat, as Shin sat in the chair to Lord Beerus' left. Gohan was glad to find that he was sat at the end of the table and not next to Lord Champa. Though due to their neighbouring universes, the sixth were sat opposite them, enabling the brothers to continue to shoot dirty looks at one another across the table.

Further down, he noticed that Shin was sat next to the Destroyer of Universe Eight, a fox-like humanoid with golden fur and eyes. He looked rather regal, his three white-tipped tails wavering about behind his straight back, his yellow eyes surveying the rest of the room with an air of confidence and neutrality. He was accompanied by a purple-skinned Supreme Kai, whose lips were drawn into a thin line, his calculating gaze sweeping the other Gods before straightening out his brilliant white garb. Gohan could feel an overwhelming presence from both of them, wagering that the deities of the eighth universe must be quite powerful.

The young saiyan bit his lip, a feeling of unease pooling in his stomach. He wished that Whis had given him a bit more information as to why they were here, the imposing formality of it all was making him feel incredibly on edge. Sighing to himself, he reached for the goblet in front of him, making to take a sip of his wine when it was swiftly swiped out of his grasp.

"Oi!" he protested, as he was met with Lord Beerus' challenging stare.

" _Absolutely not!_ " he hissed, shoving the goblet into an unsuspecting Shin's hands, causing the poor Kai to nearly slop the drink all over himself, "I want you on top form boy, do you hear me? _Need_ I remind you of the last time you drank from the grapes of the Divine Nectar?!"

"Fine, whatever," Gohan huffed, folding his arms across his chest, "I can't believe that you're still on about that."

The Supreme Kai blinked, "What happened? Although I'm afraid to ask."

Though before either Destroyer could reply, The Grand Minister cleared his throat from where he situated at the head of the table, hovering several feet in the air, the soft murmuring surrounding them coming to an abrupt halt and a rather tense silence filling the room.

"Now that we are all quite comfortable," the father of Angels spoke with a kind smile, though his domineering presence was evident as he beheld the deities, "Let us discuss the reason why I have summoned you. Hours ago, Universe Seven declared a state of emergency, which naturally caught my attention."

The teenager shrunk back in his seat slightly, as all eyes averted to their end of the table, though Shin and Lord Beerus' gaze remained firmly fixed on The Grand Minister as he continued.

"It appears that a former deity of the seventh universe, a half-Kai and Junior Destroyer by the name of Perses who was imprisoned in the realm of The Void for his crimes against the Divine, created and unleashed an army of monsters upon the mortal realm," he stated, the Gods listening intently, "Luckily, these creatures were defeated with minimal damage to the universal balance. And although Perses remains in his prison, I am informed that it is only a matter of time until he breaks free and that if this happens it will threaten the balance of the entire cosmos. I thought it only reasonable that we listen to Universe Seven's plight given the seriousness of what they suggest is at stake. Now, let us hear their plea."

Gohan cocked his head to the side in thought, as the Gods looked to them expectantly. Turning to Lord Beerus, he whispered, "Wait, you called this meeting?"

The Destroyer snorted in distaste, "Hardly, the damned Kai did. I certainly wouldn't beg for _their_ help."

He was left even more confused by Beerus' words as Shin stood nervously, his chair scraping on the floor as he addressed the rest of the table, "I know it may seem unorthodox to ask the benevolent Grand Minister to call a meeting, but I realised that with today's events that I must insist on this."

He paused, sucking in a breath, "I'm sure that you all remember the terror that befell the seventh universe at the height of Perses' murderous path. With one of his creations, he was able to wipe out five of the six Kai's that resided in our scared realm at the time, his goal to rule over the entire cosmos, eradicate the divine hierarchy and begin anew. We managed to win against him by the skin of our teeth, imprisoning him in The Void for over a thousand years. We don't know exactly how, but we believe that he has become much stronger than ever before. If he - _when_ he escapes, which could be weeks or days even, we may not be able to stop him. So for the sake of our universe, and countless others, I implore you to stand by our side when the time comes, and help us defeat him if needs be."

A tense silence hung between them after The Supreme Kai's speech, before a small snort of laughter emitted from further down the table. Gohan frowned deeply, as it was soon accompanied by another, and then another until the Gods were sent into full blown hysterics.

Shin scowled, his knuckles turning white as his fingers clutched onto the edge of the table tightly when the laughter reached new heights. Lord Beerus didn't look too impressed either, a vein protruding from his forehead as he gritted his teeth irritably.

"Us? Help _you_?!" A teal-skinned Kai said snidely, seated in the spot of the ninth universe, Gohan had never seen a Supreme Kai look so _arrogant_ , "What a joke!"

"Ro has a point," a wrinkly humanoid Destroyer who looked like a cross between an insect and a tree observed from Universe Five, "Are the seventh so incapable that they can't even fight their own battles?"

"Of course we can!" Lord Beerus snapped back, his anger getting the better of him, "Do you need your ears cleaned Arak? Or are you deaf as well as stupid?! Perses is becoming more powerful by the second. Not to mention that we know for a fact that he used the Super Dragonballs not long before his capture, and we have _no idea_ what he wished for! He could be immortal for all we know! You should be thankful that we called you here to warn you, incase he attacks your universe too. Or did you forget that he's capable of inter-universal travel on his own?"

Lord Arak scoffed, though Lord Vermoud interjected before he could argue back, "Wait, wait. Hold on now! Somethin' is jogging my memory. Perses? You mean the same Perses that pushed the other six universes to the brink of their destruction?"

Gohan was listening intently, though he was incredibly puzzled. What did he mean by six _other_ universes? Was he missing something? And he prayed to Zalama that Lord Beerus was wrong and that Perses hadn't wished himself immortal of all things! He doubted that they could still use the Hakai on him, especially with the power harboured by the Super Dragonballs - either way it wouldn't be easy to take him out. But if he hadn't wished for immortality like they presumed, then what the hell had he wished for? His head was reeling with possibilities, this _certainly_ wasn't in the history book he had read about the ex-hero all those years ago. Then again, half of the pages had been ripped out.

"Yes _that_ Perses!" Lord Beerus seethed, exasperated as frantic chatter broke out amongst the Gods, "I would have thought you all would have remembered that, seen as it was the entire reason that Grand Zeno himself had no choice but to wipe those universes out of existence. The thirteenth to eighteenth were completely beyond salvaging!"

"He did WHAT?!" the young saiyan cried, horrified, though his outburst was ignored.

"If I remember rightly, _those_ universes were beyond restoring anyway," Lady Jerez of the second universe sighed, showing a little remorse if any, "Grand Zeno was going to eradicate those universes before Perses even crossed over into their boarders, they were full of an ugly amount of corruption and evil."

"That is besides the point," Shin spoke wisely, trying to keep his voice from shaking, though he seemed just as angry as Lord Beerus, his lips drawn into a thin line, "What Perses did to those universes could easily happen in yours too should he manage to break free!"

"He may _try_ ," the Destroyer from Universe Twelve, a gilled humanoid merman with grey scaled skin chuckled darkly, "Though I don't blame a lower mortal level universe such as yours for being afraid."

"Why don't you come over here and say that fish-face?!" Lord Beerus spluttered vexingly down towards the other end of the table, Gohan could have sworn that steam was about to spout out of his ears, "Lower level - I'll show you -!"

"It's only all too obvious to me where your problems lie, Universe Seven," a pink-skinned Supreme Kai mustered calmly, his beetle black eyes surveying them, "You come to us looking for help and answers when you should be taking a good look at yourselves. I mean, how do you expect to be of a higher mortal level unless your Gods are of higher calibre also? The rankings are only reflective of excellent divine guidance. With the horrors that befall _your_ universe, it is all too clear that is what your mortals are lacking."

"It must look all too easy from your pedestal up there, first universe!" The Destroyer snarled, as Lord Champa chortled gleefully.

"He's got a point there brother!"

"Oh shut up! You're only a stones throw behind us, fat-boy!"

"Lower mortal level?" Gohan quirked suddenly, causing some deities to scoff in amusement around him, "What's that?"

"It seems as though your newest disciple needs more 'guidance' Beerus," Universe Eight's Destroyer smirked from beside them.

His predecessor turned to face him fully, slapping him upside the head and prompting the occupants of the table to snort with laugher, " _Stop_ asking stupid questions! You're making us look bad!"

"Well _you're_ the one calling people names," he pouted, rubbing the sore spot on his skull and causing the divine being to growl.

"If I may explain so that we are all on the same page," coughed Whis, clearing his throat and stepping towards the young saiyan, "A mortal level is a scoring system if you like. One that Grand Zeno himself uses to rank all twelve universes, previously eighteen. It measures the average development or quality if you will, of the mortals existing in a universe. It is also directly related to the effectiveness of the jobs its Supreme Kai and Destroyers do, such as allowing and promoting the creation and development of adequate civilisations and the elimination of inadequate ones."

Gohan's eyes widened, "So I'm right in thinking that Universes Thirteen through to Eighteen were of lower mortal level?"

"The lowest at the time, yes," his mentor nodded, but something just didn't sit right with the halfling.

"But they're saying that those universes were beyond saving anyway, so Grand Zeno was just going to wipe them out because he didn't think they were worthy?!" he asked, failing to keep the indignation hidden in his voice, causing the deities who heard it to gasp around him.

"How _dare_ you!" Fuwa of the sixth universe spouted, "Do not question the ways of the Omni-King, youngling!"

Whis ignored him, still smiling kindly at the teen, "Not exactly, Gohan. Universes with higher mortal levels do not necessarily possess stronger fighters. Strength represents only one of the measured aspects of mortals. Mortal kindness, for example, which is a big factor, was bereft in those universes. Perses indeed noticed this, which is probably why he set out to 'cleanse' them first, though the way he went about it was certainly not the correct way, let alone within his jurisdiction as a Junior Destroyer. In the end, there was nothing left and Grand Zeno could not just leave empty universes in existence, for it tips the balance of the cosmos into disarray and as such threatens the fabrication of all universes."

Gohan gulped, the awesome power of both Perses and The Omni-King ringing true, "I-I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't," The Angel replied solemnly, "For you had no need to, until now."

"As much as I admire your curiosity young Destroyer, we are not here for a history lesson," The Grand Minister interrupted, though he looked somewhat amused as the young saiyan gave him an apologetic smile.

"Now I believe it was _you_ Lord Gohan who confronted Perses most recently, was it not?" he asked, a knowing glint in his eyes as he held out an outstretched hand towards the marble table. "Let's take a look."

It glowed brightly for a moment, and Gohan could only gape as a holographic image of himself appeared over the whirring tipping scales, his cloak billowing around him in a non existent breeze, the dusty cracked pavement of West City at his feet as the image shouted up to the heavens.

 _"Not as strong as you think you are, are you?"_ the hologram of the young saiyan jested, _"I don't care just how you're managing to reach me from your prison, but just know that I'm not scared of someone that makes threats from the safety of the shadows."_

Perses' chilling voice growled with anger, _"Your arrogance will be your undoing."_

 _"Save it for the battle field,"_ he barked back _, "That is, if you actually manage to escape. Though if your little creations are anything to go by, you're probably not even worth my time."_

The Grand Minister clicked his fingers, his expression unreadable as he stared at the half-saiyan, the image dissipating into nothing but silver particles that filtered into the air.

Lord Beerus face-palmed as the rest of the Gods gaped at the teenager in disbelief. Shin and Kibito looked incredibly forlorn, whilst Whis sighed in distain behind him, "Oh dear."

"See?! This is the problem with the seventh universe!" Ro cried, though a mocking smirk graced his features, "They only serve to stick their boot in it and make things worse!"

"Only for us to pick up their slack!" the fourth universe Destroyer chimed in, he resembled a small humanoid mouse, "I say it's high time they learned from their mistakes! Heh heh!"

"The only _mistake_ being made here is yours! In that you are failing to heed our warning!" Lord Beerus snapped, "If Perses destroys the seventh then he'll continue to jump from universe to universe until he achieves his goal! Are you that thick skulled?!"

"Hey, at least the kid had the balls to stick up to someone like Perses," Lord Vermoud chuckled, giving the teenager a wink. "Unlike _some_ deities I know, I'm looking at you Sidra."

The short, stumpy Destroyer of the ninth growled, "What did you say - ?!"

"Look, all I'm saying is that we have enough problems of our own to deal with," The elderly Supreme Kai of Universe Two piped up, running a hand thoughtfully over his white beard, "We cannot just abandon our domains to help out the seventh. It could plunge our own universes into chaos! Chaos I tell you!"

"I understand your reservations dear Pell," Shin replied with a hefty sigh, "But please see reason, if Perses escapes then your universe is in for a similar fate to ours."

A loud, robotic beeping cut through the air, the singular golden eye of the mechanical Destroyer of the third universe flashing wildly. **Whirrr. Bleep. Bleep.**

The tall Angel behind him cleared his throat, addressing the room, "Lord Mosco says, 'We must work together in order to overcome great threats'."

Gohan couldn't help but feel a little chipper at that, at least one of them was on their side!

 **Bleep. Whir. Bleep. Bleep.**

Lord Mosco beeped and whirred again, prompting his attendant to speak once more, "Lord Mosco says, 'That being said, doesn't the seventh universe have its own Divine Guard to protect it?'"

His heart sank, as the Gods hollered amongst themselves.

"That's right!"

"They have more than enough cannon fodder, no need to use us!"

"I think you're just afraid to get your hands dirty."

"I think they're just being lazy!"

"What do you expect from the second from the bottom?"

"It's bad guardianship, I'm telling you!"

"Let's just hear them out!"

Lord Beerus growled next to him, his sharp claws indenting into the marble ledge as Lord Champa blew them a raspberry across the table. Though just as the Gods were about to erupt into a frenzy, did a strong, yet well-mannered voice drift from the far end of the table.

"Might I interject?"

Gohan quirked an eyebrow as he looked down the row towards Universe Ten. The Kai who had spoken was seated next to Gowasu, the older Creation God who had spoken to The Grand Minister back in the mystical corridor. Judging by the colours of his garb and the fact that he was seated, the young saiyan could only assume that this Kai was an apprentice rather than an attendant. Meaning that he was a Supreme Kai in training.

Gowasu frowned deeply, as did their elephant-like Destroyer as the Kai spoke again, "Forgive me for speaking so forwardly, I am but a humble Supreme Kai's apprentice. Though I must ask why the seventh universe thinks it so deserving of our help?"

They stared, and Gohan immediately got a bad feeling from the deity, able to see right through the charming smile that he directed towards them.

 _"Zamasu,"_ Gowasu hissed, though his apprentice all but continued to stare in their direction.

Shin opened his mouth to speak, though Zamasu cut across him, "Were it not the actions of the Western Supreme Kai of your universe at the time, that caused this Perses to be in the first place?"

"I-I," Shin started, swallowing thickly, "Well I think that you could argue that all actions of The Supreme Kai can attribute to the existence of - "

"Were it _not_ that same Supreme Kai, who broke the Divine Code and laid with a mortal, birthing a demigod that would grow into the very being you fear?" he interrupted, smoothing his fingertips gently over the long stem of his silver goblet.

The fellow Kai's eyes hardened, a thick tension filtering between the two as the other Gods watched on with interest, "My _good_ Kai, the rules were different back then, it wasn't so much as a taboo - ."

"And yet here your universe stands, asking for aid when you take no responsibility for your wrongdoings," Zamasu said cooly, "Not only have your Gods grossly abused the Code of The Divine, they took an already powerful demigod and taught him the power of Destruction. Only to realise your blunders when it suits you, and the sheer fabrication of your universe is at stake."

The young saiyan looked behind him apprehensively, where Whis was standing stoic, though his lips were pursed in disapproval as he fixed his stare upon the Kai.

"Be that as it may," Shin put across to them, struggling to keep calm as his voice shook, "W-we have attempted to put an end to this menace before. But it's like I said, Perses is even _stronger_ than before, drawing power from the Gods even, and we need to - !"

"You'd do well to mind your tongue, footboy," Lord Beerus shot suddenly, his eyes narrowing dangerously at the apprentice. Though Gohan couldn't help but think that he did it purposefully, he had been very selective with those knowing that he was getting weaker. He obviously didn't want the other Gods to know for some reason. Though he couldn't help but think that it was due to a matter of pride.

"L-Lord Beerus is right, Zamasu!" Gowasu gasped, "Mind your manners and think about what you're saying!"

"Oh, I'm sorry Master," The younger Kai blinked innocently back at him, before turning towards the deities of the seventh and bowing his head, "Forgive me, I did not mean to cause offence."

It was clear that Lord Beerus was trying to hold back his fury just as much as Gohan was, the young saiyan couldn't help but glare back at Zamasu, bristling with anger. He didn't believe that innocent look in the slightest, it was as though he was trying to provoke them on purpose. Though he couldn't fathom as to why.

" _However_ ," Zamasu spoke up once more, his gaze settling on the halfling, as if he was relishing in the hate in his eyes, "I can't help but wonder if Grand Zeno would grant the same fate to your universe as he did to the other six if we put it to him. Seen as the seventh is capable of producing such monstrosities as Perses, as well as condoning corrupted Gods."

That was it.

Lord Beerus and Shin opened their mouths in outrage, but Gohan was already on his feet. His throne clattering to the floor with a loud crash and drawing the attention of the entire room towards him. His onyx eyes were blazing, flashing green even, his blood boiling as he struggled to refrain himself from launching across the table and ringing the Kais neck for all it was worth.

"Corrupted?!" the hot-tempered halfling snarled, he was furious! "The only thing that seems to be corrupt around here is that damned mouth of yours _Zamasu_. So you'd better shut it before I shove my fist down your throat!"

"Oh for goodness sake," Whis muttered, resting his head in his hand in despair as Lord Beerus squawked, frantically grasping the teen by the collar and pulling him down to his height.

"Be quiet brat! And sit down before I _make_ you!"

"I held my tongue the entire time that he was spouting absolute bollocks!" Gohan barked back, his voice rising, "Don't tell me that you're just going to sit here and take that crap from this git?!"

"Do you not realise whose presence you're in?" Shin looked positively wild as he addressed him, "You need to be careful!"

"Yes young Destroyer, be careful what you say," Zamasu chuckled, his goading smile irking the young man even more so, "You don't want to be held account for being blasphemous."

" _Blasphemy_ now is it?!" the teenager scoffed, uncaring as to The Supreme Kai's warning, and shrugging his predecessor off of him, "I'll give you blasphemy. You talk about _our_ Gods being corrupt, but it seems to me that you're the one whose got your morals in a twist."

"Oh really?" the Kai goaded, ignoring his master's panic-stricken, cut-throat gesture.

"Asking a higher power to erase an entire universe just like that?" Gohan spat snidely, as though it was obvious, "You seem like the kind of deity to just dispose of your problems instead of confronting them, but that's just fine by me, because you know what? Based on _your_ definition, I'd rather be a corrupt God, than a cowardly one."

A stunned silence encompassed the room, as the two junior deities positively glowered at each other.

 **Bleep. Bleep. Whirrrr.**

"Lord Mosco says, 'Oh _snap_!'"

"Sit _down_!" Lord Beerus hissed again, shoving him roughly back into his chair that had now been righted thanks to a quick wave of Whis' sceptre, "Will you stop picking fights with everyone! What the hell is with you today, boy?!"

"He started it," the teen-saiyan griped, folding his arms across his chest in a huff, still sizzling with rage, prompting the God to pull at his own ears out of frustration.

The young saiyan had thought Lord Beerus was stubborn, but he had never met a bunch of Gods so self-willed and annoying! Were they really so wrapped up in their own pride and problems that they were _that_ blinded to the fact that Perses could so easily become _their_ problem too? It was as though they weren't even listening!

He didn't care just how unjust the six eradicated universes were, he couldn't help but feel sorry for them. Maybe if the mortals had the right guidance so to speak, then maybe they could have been saved. Then again, if the other universes had been just as unwilling to help them as they were being now, it must have been futile. Whatever the case, he would not let Grand Zeno wipe out _his_ universe. One that he had worked so hard and sacrificed so much to protect. He would see to that personally.

His outburst had caused quite the stir amongst the other deities, who had broken out into an awe-filled chatter as soon as Lord Beerus had forced him back into his seat. He frowned, catching Zamasu smirking at him from down the table, going unnoticed by his superiors.

Oh what Gohan wouldn't _give_ to wipe that smirk right off his smug face.

"I think that concludes our meeting," The Grand Minster called out around them, quieting down the group once more, "You are all free to go back to your respective universes."

Shin looked positively downtrodden, "B-But we-!"

"I think all has been said that needed to be," the divine Angel started, his celestial gaze almost daring the Kai to speak out of turn, "We are fully informed and forewarned of your threat seventh universe, though there is not much more to be done at present. As Lord Mosco quite rightly pointed out, you have The Supreme Guard to protect your universe from Perses' creatures. He has not yet escaped The Void, and the cosmos remains in balance."

His eyes averted to the tipping scales at the centre of the marble table, humming and whirring in sync, perfectly balancing in place.

"Should any problems arise then you will use the proper methods of divine escalation," the Minister informed him, smiling kindly, "For now you will all go back to your normal duties, and remain vigilant in your own universe. Good day."

Then in a flash, they reappeared back outside the front doors of the palace, blinking in disorientation as they realised that The Grand Minister was nowhere in sight. With a few mutterings and calls of farewell, did the Gods begin to teleport away, though the teenager couldn't help but notice how a few of them shot his group lingering glances before they disappeared.

Suddenly, he felt someone crack him over the head once again, causing his eyes to water from both shock and pain. He whirled around, not at all surprised as Lord Beerus withdrew his offending fist out of the air and shot him a furious look.

"What was that for?!" the young saiyan scowled, "Am I your personal punching bag today or something?!"

"Our universe is already a mockery without you showing us up as well!" he snarled, breathing heavily.

"But I -!" he started, but Lord Beerus shouted over him, jabbing a clawed finger rather painfully into his chest.

"You need to learn to control that damned _yapping_ mouth of yours!" he roared, spit flying and causing the teen to flinch, "You could have been punished! Outcast! Made the rest of us look bad! Do you even care?!Disrespectful! Irresponsible! _Stupid_ -! **_Snooooooorrreeeeeeeeeee_** _."_

Gohan opened his eyes from where he had scrunched them up for want of not getting the Destroyer's saliva in his pupils, and was surprised to find that Lord Beerus had fallen to sleep mid-sentence, still standing up with his accusatory finger resting on his pectorals.

"He's fallen to sleep…" Kibito blinked rapidly in confusion, as a bubble of snot protruded from the Destroyers nostril, and he continued to snore.

"Oh dear," Shin observed, tentatively waving a hand in front of Beerus' face with no response, "It looks as though it's getting worse. At least his power is still managing to hold him up."

"Er, is he going to be alright?" he asked worriedly.

"He will be, but Lord Beerus is right Gohan," Whis sighed, giving him a disapproving stare, "I specifically told you to behave yourself, and you were all but two words away from engaging that Kai's apprentice in a fight."

"Sorry," he mustered sincerely, directing his apology towards The Supreme Kai and Kibito also, "I don't know what it is, but I got a really bad feeling about him."

"As did I," his mentor nodded thoughtfully, "I have to say that it wasn't hard to miss the dark presence emanating from him, though it appears as though his predecessor has not seemed to have noticed just yet."

Gohan opened his mouth to reply, when the Angel cut across him, "It is not for discussion here, come."

He was startled by the bright white tunnel of light that suddenly encompassed them, and he, Whis, a sleeping Lord Beerus and The Supreme Kai and Kibito shot into the air, speeding through the cloud filled skies, the large blue jellyfish rapidly becoming a speck in the distance.

"We're not teleporting?" he quirked, the Kais looked rather surprised by this too.

"Not just yet," said Whis, his expression becoming serious, "I wanted to discuss this matter privately without any chance of being listened in to by keen ears."

As he stared back at his mentor, realisation hit him like a ton of bricks, "Wait, you don't think that _Zamasu_ is the one feeding Lord Beerus' energy to Perses?"

Shin and Kibito gasped, as the blue-skinned deity gave him a wry smile, "Much like yourself, I am an excellent judge of character my boy, and I can tell that although you did act rather brash, that your anger was not misplaced. I believe that Zamasu is the catalyst we've been looking for."

"Then if that's true, what are we waiting for?!" Gohan spouted, his fists clenching in anticipation, "Let's go back there and confront him!"

"Always so quick to act, young Destroyer," Whis chuckled, "Though I am afraid that it is not that simple. What we are accusing Zamasu of is high treason, something that is not to be taken lightly. If we are wrong in our assumptions, then it could lead to rather nasty consequences."

"But it's so _obvious_!" the teenager argued, "All you have to do his look at his stupid evil face, not to mention that the rubbish he was spouting about corrupted Gods and stuff was just like Perses!"

"Indeed," he agreed, "But we cannot do anything without solid proof."

The young saiyan huffed in annoyance, as The Supreme Kai nodded, "It is true Lord Gohan, we cannot just barge into the tenth universe's sacred realm and destroy an apprentice Kai without proving Zamasu's involvement in this whole mess."

"But how could Gowasu not realise that his own student is an evil little - ?!"

"The same way neither Lord Beerus or I realised what Perses truly was," Whis said pointedly, causing the teen to clamp his mouth shut, "Even the Gods can become blinded by what they have come to admire, believing in something so desperately that they fail to see what is happening before their eyes. That people change, no matter how hard they strive to see them succeed."

Gohan stared up at his master, as nothing but Lord Beerus' light snores filled the air.

"Whis, I didn't mean - "

"What is important is that we learn from our mistakes in order to move forwards," he informed him curtly, "And speaking of moving forwards, we will look into how Zamasu is managing to drain energy from Lord Beerus as our top priority. Though it is questionable how he is doing this without anyone noticing, let alone why he has chosen him as a candidate unless just for personal vendetta, Lord Beerus isn't the strongest Destroyer in the cosmos after all."

The teenager's eyes widened, "What really?! I sensed that the other Gods were strong, but I didn't even comprehend that they could be stronger than Lord Beerus."

"Oh yes," Whis chuckled, as Shin and Kibito nodded in affirmation, "Though you would be wise not to mention it to him, he gets a little sensitive about that."

"But if that's the case, and some of these deities really are stronger than Lord Beerus, then I don't understand why the other universes are so against helping us," Gohan spouted angrily, "I mean, _especially_ with knowing what happened to the eradicated six."

"Like they said, they have their own universal problems," his mentor offered wisely, smiling at him when his head sunk, "Chin up young Destroyer, all is not lost just yet."

"I just wish that there was more I could do," he said sadly, averting his gaze to the sleeping Lord Beerus.

"The best thing that you can do for now is complete your mission on Earth," said Whis, "The power of the Super Saiyan God may be the key to our victory. You need to keep up training just as hard, whilst Lord Beerus and The Supreme Kai and his Guard investigate Zamasu."

"Yeah, I suppose," He mustered, nodding in agreement until a thought popped into his mind, "Though something has been bugging me, why couldn't we just get The Grand Minister to help? He's supposed to be ridiculously powerful isn't he? Couldn't he just blast Perses away?"

"Now who is taking the easy way out?" the Angel chuckled, giving him a pointed look, "I'm afraid it isn't as simple as that, my boy. Just as Supreme Kai and Destroyers aren't supposed to meddle in the lives of mortals unless completely necessary, neither is The Grand Priest in the affairs of Gods. Like the Gods, he nurtures and offers guidance, and Grand Zeno maintains order. It is just how the cosmos works, else it could be plunged into chaos."

"I see," he said dully, though he couldn't help but ignore the small seed of doubt that crept into his mind. What was all the good of this divine hierarchy, when they were so unwilling to help out those in need? Would it be different if their universe was of a higher mortal level?

He shook away the damning thoughts as quickly as they came, a shudder running down the length of his spine.

 _"For you see Son Gohan, you are not so different, you and I."_

"Are you alright, Gohan?" Whis asked, noticing how the boy had paled considerably.

Ignoring the haunting visions of his nightmare, Gohan forced a winning smile, "Yeah, just a little hungry."

"Well far be it from me to keep you," the Angel replied, "Kibito, would you so kindly teleport Lord Gohan back to Earth?"

"It would be an honour," Kibito replied, bowing his head before extending an arm out towards the teen.

"Thanks Kibito," he sighed gratefully, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh and Gohan?" Whis asked just before the attendant teleported them away, causing the teen to look towards him, "Please refrain from back-chatting other deities in future, there are only so many mini heart-attacks that I can take."

The young saiyan couldn't help the cheeky grin that spread across his lips, "Yes Sir."

* * *

 **Capsule Corporation, Planet Earth.**

Gohan sighed heavily as his boots touched the grass outside of the large domed building. It was already twilight, judging by the few stars that hung in the purplish sky, the cool night chasing away the summer sun. He could hear the sound of rolling trucks and the shifting of rubble in the distance, as the clean up crews tackled the mess left over in the aftermath of the battle with Perses' dark creations.

He let go of Kibito's shoulder, though addressed him before he was able to teleport away, the words tumbling from his lips before he could stop himself.

"Hey Kibito? You met my dad right?"

The Kai's attendant looked rather taken aback by his words, his beetle black eyes surveying him carefully as he replied, "An honourable man, Son Goku. He was a great help in the conflict against Majin Buu."

"Yeah, I know what happened," he said, swallowing thickly, "Was he… you know… alright?"

Kibito blinked back at him, the strange question lingering between them, until he spoke, "Are you referring to when your father was controlled by the wizard Babidi?"

The young Destroyer nodded, the guilt still gnawing at his insides from when Videl had first told him about how easily his father had succumbed to the wizards evil mind control. His pure hearted father had been tainted by Majin magic, and if Gohan hadn't have chosen to stay dead… It was more than clear that his father hadn't gotten over it. He had even _cried_ into his embrace earlier for goodness sake.

"Do not worry yourself my young Lord," said Kibito, still observing him with a mindful gaze, "What matters is that your father overcame Babidi's possession and was able to defeat the evil Majin Buu."

"Yeah, I suppose," the teenager replied glumly, causing the ancient being to sigh.

"It does not do well to dwell on what could have been Lord Gohan," Kibito said wisely, "You have chosen your path just like many before you. Sometimes sacrifices need to be made in order for the universe to continue to beat with life, occasionally that hurts the ones we love. Yet it is unavoidable, sometimes necessary in order for the universe to prosper."

He paused, thinking over Kibito's words of wisdom carefully. He was only reiterating what every other deity had told him when he had a moment of weakness. Though they had been very few and far between before he had come back to Earth. It was stupid of him to think that his death wouldn't have had such a profound effect on his loved ones. And now that he was back and out in the open as it were, he was only going to hurt them all over again when he had to leave.

It was not as though he could just bide his time or leave on happier terms, what with Zamasu and Perses up to no good.

"Are you going to tell them what you are?"

Gohan frowned deeply, as Kibito's curious tone cut through the air, breaking him out of his thoughts as it was followed by a string of jovial laughter that escaped the open window of the bottom floor of the building. No doubt in order to allow in the summer night breeze.

Yet his sudden dark look caused the red-skinned assistant to sweat profusely, "F-Forgive me Lord Gohan, I did not mean to speak out of turn - !"

"No, it's alright Kibito," said the halfling, giving him a wry smile of reassurance, almost chuckling to himself as the man let out a shaky breath of relief, "but I honestly don't see the point of telling them."

Kibito raised an eyebrow, his eyes glancing to the window occasionally as Gohan continued with an exasperated sigh, "They'll see me as nothing more than a monster."

"You're not a monster, my Lord," Kibito stated, "You're a Destroyer."

He snorted disbelievingly, "There's a difference?"

Kibito regarded him for a moment, "Permission to speak off record?"

"Of course," Gohan nodded, though he seemed rather sceptical as the usually stoic deity gave him an uncharacteristically bright smile.

"I must say that in all my years, I have never a met a Destroyer - Junior or otherwise quite like you," he implored, causing the teen's frown to deepen, "Though I am not talking about your power Gohan, I speak of your courage and heart. You do not do things out of selfishness or spite, and you hold your position in the highest regard. Of course, you have a long way to go, but I have to give you praise where it is due. I believe that you can bring the seventh universe a greatness that it hasn't seen in many many years. Do not let others opinions of you influence the way you view yourself. Your father is a strong believer in doing what is right, and I see that is rife with you too. You are a lot like him in that regard."

"Wow, thanks Kibito," the young saiyan blinked, rather taken aback by his praise, "But I wish it were that easy."

"No one said it would be easy my Lord," his smile faded slightly, as only the sound of chirping songbirds returning to their nests drifted between them.

"I bid you good evening," he said again, nodding curtly.

"Good night Kibito," said Gohan, "and… thanks."

"A pleasure, Lord Gohan."

Then, with a deep bow and a flash of light he disappeared, leaving him alone in the middle of the Briefs' dark lawn.

Looking around, he was a little confused as no one had come to greet him yet. Even though he was glad that he'd had the opportunity to speak to Kibito, it didn't make him feel much better about his current situation.

He could see that the lights were on in the Briefs' living room, casting a bright yellow glow over the garden grass, depicting silhouettes dancing across the large rectangular window. His nostrils filled with the tantalising aroma of his mothers cooking, causing his taste buds to tingle with anticipation. He hoped that they had saved him a plate or five, though he realised that was a stupid thought, his mother would have fought any burly saiyan off with a wooden spoon and a frying pan if they even dared to try and steal her 'precious baby boy's' leftovers.

He sighed again, his shoulders feeling heavier than ever before. And as much as he wanted to, he couldn't find the will to make his legs move.

 _"Well, we've certainly got our work cut out for us,"_ mustered Z from his scabbard, breaking him out of his trance. Though he was thankful that he didn't mention the conversation with Kibito, or tease him for reaching out to a Kai's assistant like he was betting on.

"You're telling me," the teenager drawled.

" _Oh don't look so glum, chum,"_ the ancient relic said heartily, _"What's the worst that could happen?"_

"Perses could escape, slaughter everyone and everything in this universe and rearrange the cosmos as we know it?"

 _"Ah, point there."_

"Yeah," said Gohan begrudgingly, "I just wish that there was something else I could do. And I can't help but feel that something doesn't quite add up. I don't understand why Perses is so hell bent on destroying everything like those other universes, something tells me that there's just more to it than that. And what's worse, even though we pretty much know that Zamasu is the one filtering energy to Perses, we can't do anything about it without proof! I _hate_ all these rules."

 _"Ah yes, but they are put in place for a reason, and don't you forget that sonny,"_ Z offered wisely, _"But the rules don't say anything about not going over to the tenth universe and decking that pathetic excuse for a Kai's apprentice right in the schnoz!"_

The young Destroyer snorted in amusement, "You know I can't do that, Whis would have my head for a start."

 _"Yeah, but I'd still get a laugh out of it!"_ he cackled, causing the teen to laugh, _"And it would certainly make you feel better."_

"Yeah, it would," he smiled finally. For a perverted old relic, the Z-Sword certainly had his redeeming moments.

"Woof! Woof!"

Gohan looked up, only to find a rather enthusiastic Bee bounding towards him across the garden. The labrador sprang onto his hind legs and proceeded to lick his face - he would have knocked the teen over if he wasn't so strong. He presumed that someone had picked him up from where Videl had left him at the police station in the heat of battle, the girl not wishing her precious puppy anywhere near the crossfire.

"Alright Bee, get down! You daft dog!" he huffed, though couldn't help but laugh as the pup wagged his tail furiously, "Are you the only one that's come to welcome me back?"

"Woof!"

"Where's everyone else?" he asked, as Bee barked happily.

"Woof! Woof!"

"Well come on then, let's go inside," said Gohan, scratching him behind the ears and following him back into the house.

" _Great, now he's making friends with mangy dogs,"_ scoffed Z, causing him to roll his eyes as he followed the laughter that echoed down the hallway.

It seemed to get even louder as he approached the living room, and peering through the gap in the doorway where Bee had slipped through, he could see that The Supreme Guard had stuck true to their word and hadn't left yet. They were sat cosily amongst the Z-gang, either perched on armchairs or sat on the plush carpeted floor, which appeared to be the set up for the rest of the group. He spotted his father on the large sofa, his mother nestled on his lap and a beer in hand, smiling brightly as the laughter died down once more.

Empty plates and dishes were placed on the long coffee table in front of them, the washing up long forgotten about as it seemed that the entire gang were too focussed on the ginger-haired teen in the centre of the room. They were listening intently to the story that Makhai was telling, as he stood in front of the group with his arms waving about in a dramatic fashion, loudly recounting the tale.

Goten, Trunks and Marron were nearest to him, their eyes wide in awe as his best friend spun around in a circle, punching at the air enthusiastically, his own amazing speed evident, before making the action of tossing a rather large foe to the ground.

Gohan stopped short, surveying the scene before him. His eyes narrowed.

"And BOOM just like that it was all over!" Makhai grinned, panting slightly from his long portrayal of the story, "The chimera was _down_! There was blood and guts EVERYWHERE - well, mainly from Gohan, as the three-headed bastard had sliced its talons right through his chest…"

"Is that where Gohan got his cool scars from?" Trunks gasped, drinking in every word.

"Correct kiddo!" the fanged-teen winked, "Though it wasn't exactly 'cool' at the time, I thought that he was a goner for certain, especially when the snake head of the beast went for him as well. The rest of us were completely helpless, beaten up from fighting off the Crimson Dynasty's army."

"That sounds scary!" Marron cried, as her mother reached over and smoothed her hair in comfort.

"Nah, not for Gohan," Alala smiled, chiming in suddenly, "Even though he was bleeding out, he -"

"Yeah, yeah _alright_ there's no need to steal the punchline Alala," the teen griped, rolling his eyes, " _I'm_ the one telling the story!"

"Then get on with it then will you?!" Deimos growled, "Great Zalama, there's only so much of this blasted fan-girling I can take."

" _Anyway,"_ Makhai continued rather haughtily, before turning to the group once more, who were hanging onto his every word, "Gohan did something so stupendously BADASS _,_ it went _beyond_ the realms of manliness -."

"Oh please, I think I'm about to throw up," Kratos grunted, though the boy ignored him.

"Knowing he was loosing a lot of blood, Gohan charged up a ball of energy and _sealed his skin shut_ with his own Ki! It was INCREDIBLE, well I mean, he screamed like a little girl and swore like a sailor but thats beside the point! The _point_ is that because of his quick thinking, our little rookie managed to take down the rest of the chimera heads in no time at all, saving the South-East Galaxy from the Dynasty's rein of terror!"

"Incredible!" The Ox-King spouted, from where he was sat next to a gaping Oolong and Chaiozu, the rest of the room's occupants looking equally as flabbergasted, "Our little Gohan really did all that?"

The young saiyan shook his head with a small smile, trust Makhai to fill his friends and family in on his adventures whilst he had been gone. Though he was certain - and thankful, that judging by the happiness and pride that radiated from the gang that he hadn't told them that he was a Destroyer. He didn't mind the Guard letting them in on the times that he had saved the universe, rather than having a hand in it's destruction.

"You bet!" Makhai chortled, a wicked grin spreading across his lips, "But that's not all. Because of his efforts, he was granted honours by the Galactic King himself."

"Wow really?" Chi-Chi positively gushed, her eyes full of prideful tears.

"Well yeah," the boy offered with a shrug, "Though that led to a rather unfortunate incident in which Gohan ended up grabbing the King's er… rather _sensitive_ organ shall we say. It's safe to say that it wouldn't have happened if he wasn't so accustomed to Earth's silly greeting of handshaking."

The gang's eyes widened in disbelief, that was until the door flew open, nearly flinging off its hinges as a very red faced Gohan charged at the teenager in the middle of the room. They were incredibly startled by the young man's appearance, especially Makhai, who let out a high pitched scream at the sight.

"SHUT UP!" Gohan cried, his cheeks burning in embarrassment, as he tackled Makhai to the floor, "It wasn't my fault that he had so many tentacles! How was I supposed to know what else he was hiding in there?!"

To his further chargin, the room erupted into hysterics, and he could even hear Z cackling loudly at his misfortune. To his surprise and subsequent annoyance, Vegeta too was doubled over with mirth, not even bothering to contain himself.

"The best thing is that the Galactic King liked Gohan so much after that, he tried to marry him off to his daughter the Galactic Princess," chirped Alala, causing Gohan to shoot daggers in her direction.

"Almost starting an intergalactic war in the process when he refused," snorted Makhai, before the halfling smacked him over the head, "Oi!"

Gohan sighed in distain, as bellowing laughter escaped his family and friends. Even Videl was struggling not to fall off her seat she was laughing so hard.

"What about his GodTube account?" Eris mustered evilly, "There's loads of hilarious stuff on there."

"What's a GodTube?" his father asked curiously, as the young Destroyer snarled.

"No! Absolutely not!" he scowled, "That's enough stories for one day!"

"Aw you're no fun," Makhai pouted, dusting off his t-shirt as he got to his feet.

Gohan gaped, it was only then did he take in his best friends appearance for the first time, the golden-haired caricature on his t-shirt was all too familiar. And to his further horror, he found that the rest of the Guard were wearing one - save Kratos, though Deimos was sporting a yellow baseball cap complete with fake, golden spikey hair.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU WEARING?!" He roared, causing them to wince, a small amount of violet energy escaping his frame along with his fury before he managed to quickly control it again. It would not do well to release energy of destruction in front of the Z-gang - the Ki sensing members of the group were bound to notice the darkness that intermingled with the aura. And he would be discovered. Which would add even _more_ stress.

"Oh this?" Makhai quirked indifferently, looking down at his offending t-shirt, "Well, we had a bit of time to kill whilst we waited for your half-saiyan behind to show up, and your family were kind enough to show us round the parts of the city that weren't destroyed. We did some sight-seeing, hit up some gift shops -."

"You didn't tell us that you were a celebrity on your home planet Gohan," cooed Bia, smiling brightly as she sipped on a can of _Golden-Ade_ , "The Earthlings are rather spritely mortals I have to say. Though I can see that you do not appear to be too pleased by their enthusiasm."

"I think it's nice," said Alala, patting the head of her new golden-haired action figure, "I find the memorabilia quite charming."

The young saiyan pinched the bridge of his nose in despair, making a mental note to destroy everything _Golden Boy Wonder_ related before he left this ridiculous planet.

"So, what did Whis want?" Makhai asked, his golden eyes surveying him.

He sighed glumly, "Well, long story short, the other universes don't want to help us."

"Other universes?" Alala frowned from where she was perched next to Launch, before letting out a sudden gasp, "Hold on, don't tell me that you went to Grand Zeno's palace?! Did you see him?! What does he look like?!"

"Grand Zeno?" Goku blinked, "Who's that?"

"The King of Everything, The Omni-King, _All_ ," Makhai told him with a roll of his eyes, "Keep up Goku."

"You told them?" Gohan asked worriedly, though his best friend gave him a wink.

"The basics," he replied, before speaking telepathically, " ** _I left out the part about you being the grim reaper_** _"._

 _"_ ** _Oh piss off_** _,_ " he shot back, though a genuine smile spread across his lips, causing the ginger teen to laugh. Well, at least he didn't have to explain the divine fabrication of the universe to them.

"And in answer to your question Alala," he said, turning back to his friends, "yes I did go to Grand Zeno's, but I didn't see him, he was busy. The Grand Minister oversaw the Gods meeting though. But first things first, I've got to tell you about this Kai's apprentice from the tenth universe…"

He explained what had transpired, leaving out any detail that could reveal him as a Destroyer, though similarly left both the Guard and the Z-gang astonished from what he had told them.

"Gods I wish you _did_ punch him in the face," scoffed Makhai, referring to Zamasu, "He wouldn't have a mouth left to speak such drivel with, how are we going to prove that he's the one feeding energy to Perses?"

"So he's draining energy from the Gods?" quirked Piccolo, as Gohan shrugged, "Sounds a lot like Babidi."

"Babidi?" Gohan frowned, as visions of his father baring a Majin symbol on his forehead entered his mind. A familiar pang of guilt and nausea rippled across his chest.

"Don't tell me that you're talking about the son of the wizard Bibidi?" Alala asked suddenly, her dark eyes widening, "Ah though I suppose that would make sense if he was the one who released Majin Buu upon your world."

"Yeah," Krillin nodded glumly, his eyes averting to Goku momentarily, "Babidi drained our energy and fed it to Majin Buu, giving him enough power to escape. Though he only did this by controlling one of us and inflicting damage. Sounds pretty similar though."

"Yes, it certainly sounds similar to the magic utilised by the dark arts," observed Deimos, prompting the others to give him curious looks, "Majin magic is a very ancient and powerful kind of sorcery, one that can only truly be mastered by those of gross impurity. Being well acquainted with those wizards over many centuries, it would make sense that Perses would get the idea to use some kind of incantation to gain his power back, though I have never heard of a Kai like Zamasu powerful enough to use such magic, much less master it. It is incredibly dark magic to drain someones life force in order to feed your own."

"You seem to know a lot about it," Vegeta said pointedly, his eyes narrowing at the ex-hellion.

"I was an evil warlock when I was alive," Deimos smirked, "I had a flurry of planets under my complete control, and a whole host of slaves and armies willing to do my bidding, least they get tortured and slain by my power."

Videl gasped from where she had come to stand next to Gohan, listening intently to the groups discussion, "Wait, what?"

"Ah don't mind him, Deimos is a big softie now," Makhai winked, causing the guardian in question to scowl, "He's more into dusty old textbooks than mass genocide nowadays."

"Either way its a good lead," said Eris, "If Zamasu really is using Majin magic to drain Lord Beerus' energy then we can look back through the ancient scriptures to find out if theres a counter curse of sorts that can stop him."

"Ugh _really_ Eris? Do we have to?" whined Makhai, "You know that I _hate_ studying! Unless it's in dark, secluded corners." He added with a wink, prompting the girl to scoff.

"It's not going to be enough," said Bia wisely, "If Deimos is right, then we need to come up with a plan, and fast. Zamasu hasn't been discovered thus far, which means that he could be manipulating the Gods of the tenth universe also. It's not going to be easy to take him out just like that."

"He must be draining energy gradually so as to not rouse suspicion," Master Roshi surmised thoughtfully from an armchair, "This is all getting very complicated."

"I agree," Alala sighed, "No doubt that Zamasu is going to get suspicious if we start lurking around the tenth universe trying to catch him in the act. Though I have to say that I'm not all that keen on sneaking around instead of just barging in there and assassinating that evil bastard."

"Preaching to the choir on that one," Gohan replied haughtily, folding his arms across his chest, "I've already been ordered to stay stuck here doing nothing but figuring out this Super Saiyan God stuff."

Makhai snorted, "Great, and where in the HFIL are _we_ supposed to start? In Master Zuno's library? There's no way I'm kissing him again."

"We'll speak to The Supreme Kai when we're back," said Kratos boldly, "We aren't going to find any more answers here on Earth."

"This blows," the halfling sighed heavily, the feeling that he was missing something encompassing him again. Though for the death of him, he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"In the meantime son, maybe you shouldn't go around speaking to deities like that, especially ones who are evil," his father said in a serious tone, though he failed to hide his amusement, "I mean, can't you get into some sort of trouble for that?"

"Well, I suppose," he mustered sheepishly.

"Nah it's fine!" Makhai laughed without thinking, "There's not many people who would want to cross Gohan, he's super scary- YOWCH! I-I mean er, loveable! This man here will love you to death, oh those warm cuddly, none foot-breaking hugs of his…"

He face-palmed as the boy grasped the toe of his boot in pain, though luckily Goku didn't seem to catch on.

"Oh right," his father shrugged, before whispering into his ear, "Is he a little bit crazy or something?"

"Yeah," he replied, shooting his so-called best friend a glare, "He got hit in the head during one of our missions, he hasn't been the same since. Not that he had many brain cells to begin with."

"Oi!"

"So, what's the plan to stop Perses if he manages to escape before you can dispose of Zamasu?" Piccolo asked gruffly, taking charge of the situation.

"Well, there isn't really that much of a plan…" Gohan started weakly, causing Vegeta to scoff.

"What do you mean there's no plan?" he spat, "Don't tell me that you're going to just fight this cretin with no sure way of defeating him?"

"Well, there is the Super Saiyan God…"

"That you know nothing about, not to mention how to achieve or master it," the prince stated pointedly.

"And won't do for another three weeks until you can summon Shenron," finished Piccolo.

"But -"

"There is no other option but to fight," interrupted Kratos, his deep voice booming over the living room, "I don't like this lack of plan much either, but unless we manage to apprehend Zamasu before Perses escapes The Void, then we have no other choice but to hope that this Super Saiyan God is the answer to our peril."

"You're seriously basing your entire strategy on _hope_?" Vegeta said snidely, "What kind of warriors are you?"

"Do you want those to be your last words, mortal?!" Kratos growled, though the saiyan merely smirked.

"That's Prince to you, I don't give a damn if you're The Supreme Kai's food-taster or the one that wipes his -"

"Woah you two!" Gohan spouted, quickly stepping in between the headstrong warriors, "This really isn't helping right now. Vegeta is right Kratos, we can't face Perses without a plan."

The guardian stood down begrudgingly, still glaring at the saiyan prince as Gohan's words rang true, a tense and rather apprehensive silence fell between them. The reality of facing both Perses and Zamasu breathing down their necks, drawing ever closer.

"Well, we could train whilst we come up with something," his father said helpfully, a familiar glint of excitement in his eyes.

"Dad, I already told you," the halfling sighed, "I'm not getting you lot involved!"

"I never said that, now did I?" he replied with a cheeky grin, "It doesn't hurt to be prepared though. And I can't wait to see just how strong you've become."

"Goku, are you _seriously_ asking Gohan to spar with you?" Yamcha called disbelievingly, catching on, "Did you not see what he did to that gigantic monster in seconds what we failed to do in the best part of an hour?!"

"Exactly! And I've been excited to see what else he can do ever since. Makhai tells good stories, but I want to see it in person," Goku grinned ever wider, "So what do you say son? You up for a spar?"

"I'm next Kakarot," Vegeta scowled, clicking his tongue in annoyance, "I'm not letting you have all the fun."

"I'd like to test my strength as well," added Piccolo, giving the teen a wry smile.

"Er, Gohan?" Alala asked tentatively as the men continued to bicker over who would fair better against the deceased halfling, "Are your family always like that?"

"What, fighting over who gets to beat me up first?" Gohan couldn't help but laugh at the look of horror on his friends face, smiling as a fresh wave of nostalgia washed over him, "Yeah, it looks like some things never change."

The Supreme Guard exchanged bewildered looks behind his back, as his father clapped him on the shoulder.

"Come on son, what are you waiting for?" he called, and the teenager wasted no time in following him out the back door and into the garden. His chest feeling a little lighter at the thought of sparring with his father. Whis had said that he needed to continue training after all, and he was certain that this counted.

It had been _years_ since he and his father had fought together just for fun, and he didn't even count the year in The Hyperbolic Time Chamber, nor the years in the run up to the androids. Those times, they had been training for the fight of their lives, and every spar was agonising, gruelling, pushing their bodies to the limit as they strived to get even stronger. No, the last time he had sparred his father for nothing but entertainment was probably back when he was a young boy - over ten years ago if he added it up correctly in his head.

The Z-gang and members of The Supreme Guard followed them outside in excitement, though some looked a little apprehensive - particularly his mother who called out to them to be careful. The gardens of Capsule Corp. were large and encompassed by tall, thick evergreens that shielded them from view of civilians. The light from the house spilled across the large patio, a blanket of stars twinkling high above them, casting dark shadows over the father-son duo as they stood opposite each other in the centre of the grass.

However, even though the garden was wide and long, Gohan couldn't help but feel a little anxious. He didn't really want to hold back _too_ much against his father, eager to show the man what he had learned in his eight years of absence. He doubted that the full-bloodied saiyan wanted to take it easy either, but as the calls and cheers of his friends and family reached his ears, he couldn't help but feel a little worried.

"Er Dad? Are you sure this is safe?" he asked seriously, his eyes darting over to the small crowd gathered on the patio, who were busy accepting refreshments off of Bulma's mother rather than making good distance away from them, "Shouldn't we go to a deserted wasteland or something?"

Though before his father could reply, did Bulma's cheerful shout reach his ears, and he caught sight of the small handheld remote that she was waving at them.

"I've got it covered Gohan, don't worry!" she grinned, pressing the button so that an enormous spherical shield encased them, providing a lot of ground and sky for them to work with whilst still protecting the spectators from harm, "There! Now you can fight to your hearts content!"

"Wow Bulma, that's amazing!" he implored, causing her to beam brightly back at him.

In all honesty, he could have conjured an impenetrable shield just like the one he had put around him and Videl when they had shared their first kiss above the atmosphere. Though he reasoned that he would rather concentrate solely on the fight at hand, rather than worry about holding up a shield too. Even still, the fact that Bulma had managed to produce something similar using pure science was incredible, the earth-woman's brain never ceased to amaze him.

"Are you ready, Gohan?" his father's voice cut through the air, his tone much more serious now.

He beheld the man for a moment, the man that had guided him through the first eleven years of his life. Never, ever would he have thought that he would have faced off with him like this. For Gohan was a very perceptive young man, and his father an incredibly smart fighter. He knew from the look in his obsidian eyes that this was not just a spar - no, this was a test.

The tension built suddenly, almost rather unexpectedly. A tremor of anticipation shook the ground, shaking the dirt apart and causing small particles to lift into the air. Their audience found it hard to ignore the swell of power that drifted between the pair, and Gohan couldn't help the smirk that forced its way onto his lips. It was all his father needed to see.

" _Er, you're not going to kill each other, right?_ " Z asked worriedly, his voice shaking.

"Well then," Goku chuckled, returning the smirk, "I don't think that we need to worry about a warm up. I'm going to start all out."

Gohan grinned, folding his arms across his chest, waiting patiently, "I wouldn't have expected anything less."

An abrupt shout suddenly escaped the man's chest without another moment to spare. Then, all at once, there was power. Raw, unyielding power that washed over his senses in a way that would have knocked him flying were he not prepared for it. He had expected his father's energy to flood towards him, to shake the air so violently that it snapped and sizzled from the sheer heat of his power - just like it always had done. He remembered the first time he had transformed into a super saiyan against Frieza, when he had first been bowled over by the sheer magnitude of what his father could achieve.

It had been utterly jaw-dropping back then, the heat suffocating and the fury almost palpable in the air. Though as Goku had moved on as a fighter, the encompassing rage when he transformed had mostly disappeared and in its place stood a cool and competent warrior. Though the teenager was certain that he still had his moments. He could still sense the ebbing darkness that resided in his Ki from when he transformed in his spar with Goten. Though despite it, he realised then and there just how much he had missed feeling his fathers energy, truly _feeling_ it as it invaded his lungs and gripped at his senses.

It was still just as awesome as ever.

He watched, smiling, as a golden, crackling aura burst around his frame. His hair spiking up even further, black swiftly turning to gold as his obsidian eyes swirled with emerald.

Goku grinned wickedly, settling on his second level of transformation for but a moment, "It didn't take Vegeta and I too long to reach this level, working together. But I have to admit it was a while before we were able to go even further beyond."

Gohan waited patiently, as his father's Ki spiked even further, deep cracks now forming in the dirt beneath his boots, his golden hair wavering in the breeze that suddenly picked up around them. The winds grew more rapid, fierce, as the man gritted his teeth to curb the scream that fought to escape him. His hair grew past his knees, his eyebrows disappearing from his forehead as his muscled bulged under the sheer influx of power.

With a staggering breath as he ascended to the third level, his father looked towards him with hardened eyes, his smirk ever wider, "So, what do you think? We call this one, super saiyan number three."

The teenager chuckled, his arms folded across his chest as he surveyed the man. He could hear the awe-filled shouts of the Guard from beyond the shield, who could not believe that Goku could transform in the same manner as Gohan. The young saiyan was impressed, he was even more determined then ever to give the rest of the spectators a show, including his father. Though the man didn't seem at all surprised by the fact that his powerful transformation hadn't at least blown him back a few feet.

"You're a smart fighter Dad," Gohan replied, his arms coming to rest by his sides, "You've gotten a lot stronger, I can even feel it at your base. But I think you're underestimating just what I've put my body through these past eight years."

Goku's eyes widened in disbelief, as the young saiyan immediately jumped to super saiyan three, the sudden influx of concentrated power slamming into his senses like a freight train. Gohan all but let out a snarl, as his hair grew even longer than his father's, reaching his ankles and turning golden in the same manner as he. Electricity rippled over his chest, a stubborn bang wavering in front of his face as his mass of hair struggled to be tamed by the gold clasp at the nape of his neck.

His cape billowed in the breeze he was creating with his electrifying aura, his green eyes darting towards the flabbergasted Z-gang beyond the shield. Piccolo and Vegeta blinked rapidly in his direction, though he knew that _they_ knew that he was holding back significantly for want of not accidentally destroying the planet.

"Woah," his father gasped, though he was swelling with pride, "Gohan, you're power! I-It's amazing! Though I shouldn't have doubted tha - ."

 **BOOM!**

He was caught off guard, by the young saiyan's sudden attack. A sonic boom ricocheted over the garden, as Goku gaped, not having noticed that the boy had kicked off from the ground and careened towards him in a flash. It was so fast that he barely had a chance to block it!

Gohan grinned wickedly, as the man had narrowly blocked his oncoming fist, his hand shaking underneath the teenager's strength as he grasped his fist tightly in his palm in a desperate attempt to stop it from going further.

"Then why are you holding back?" he asked, causing the man's eyes to widen as he ripped his fist away, embedding the other straight into the man's gut.

Goku doubled over in pain, a loud hacking cough falling from his lips as the sheer force of the punch knocked the wind out of him. He could have sworn that if his son had put a little more effort into it then his fist would have gone straight through his chest cavity.

Reeling a little from shock, the full-bloodied saiyan looked wildly around him, before realising all too late that his son's Ki - that was emitting a strange pressure as though squeezing his senses - was right behind him. Before he could react, a solid boot slammed into his spine, causing his bones to shudder from the impact. He was sent flying over the garden, though with a sharp burst of Ki, managed to stop himself from hitting the edge of Bulma's shield.

"You know, if you take this seriously Dad," Gohan called out, a cheeky grin directed towards him as he whirled back around to face him, "Then I might start trying."

"Oh _that_ 's the way it is, is it?" the earth-raised saiyan chortled, his golden aura igniting around his frame once more, "Then you'd better prepare yourself, kiddo."

No more words were exchanged, as father and son met each other in the air, their fists, knees and boots clashing in rapid succession. The grass uprooted completely underneath their feet from the sheer force of the hurricane-like winds that exploded around them.

Each fist was met with an oncoming fist, each kick was soon followed up with another, an elbow, a knee, sending tremors ricocheting over the grounds of Capsule Corporation. Ki blasts ignited the air, sizzling and popping, creating a thick impenetrable heat that threatened to engulf the entire garden. The earth began to shake from the incredible force of the combined power, leaking out of the shield and prompting the spectators on the patio to hold onto their seats for want of not toppling over.

The warriors of the group followed the fight, their eyes trained to the father-son duo as they phased in and out, wincing as Gohan delivered a sickening blow to Goku's jaw, the resounding **CRACK** echoing around them.

Goku clutched his face in pain, his emerald eyes widening in both shock and panic as the young halfling followed up in his attack without hesitation, allowing a loud bellow to escape his chest, his electrifying aura growing even larger, power erupting from his form, the explosive wave knocking his elder backwards a few feet. Slightly dazed, Goku realised all too late that his son had disappeared once more, appearing suddenly only to drive a spinning kick straight to his ribs, spewing forth a wad of blood and saliva from his lips.

He was certain that the teenager had cracked a few bones with that one.

Goku gritted his teeth as he was flung back from the impact of his son's brutal attack. Skidding on the hardened earth, the earth-raised saiyan glanced up at the boy - impressed. He was incredibly fast that was a given, and the way he pulled his punches only confirmed to him that Gohan was holding back _significantly._

Despite his throbbing ribs, he grinned back at him, pressing two fingers to his temple and using his instant transmission technique to teleport himself to Gohan's side in a flash, aiming a devastating chop to his neck. Though, to his astonishment, the teenager caught his outstretched knife-hand with ease, and despite the power that Goku put behind it - _he could not move_.

"Nice try," the young saiyan smiled impudently, prompting his elder to rip his arm away in a burst of golden Ki.

Goku sped away from the teen with no time to lose, creating a good distance and unleashing rapid fire from his palms. The glowing, white hot balls of energy were all but batted away easily by the halfling, who kicked off from the ground and fired himself towards his father with gusto.

They met in the air once more, their fists clashing together with an ear-shattering **BOOM** a large crater forming underneath their feet from the sheer force of their attacks connecting. Bulma's irate shriek at the state of her garden was lost on them, as they continued in their onslaught, paying no mind to the torrents of wind that picked up around them, causing the entire protective shield to shake dangerously.

It was clear that the pair were evenly matched, though it had quickly become evident that the youngest challenger wasn't trying nearly as hard. Something that both amazed and surprised the rest of the occupants of the garden. The strain of maintaining the weighted transformation of a super saiyan three was beginning to show, especially with Goku, whom was starting to form beads of sweat upon his brow as he parried another one of Gohan's well aimed punches - albeit with some difficultly.

"You know, the problem with that form is that it wastes a lot of energy too quickly," said Gohan, eyeing his father as they broke apart, floating across from one another, "I mean, the power behind it is useful don't get me wrong, but I _much_ prefer super saiyan two."

Goku quirked an eyebrow, as the teenager's hair grew a little shorter, his brow returning to normal, though the stubborn bang continued to wave almost mockingly over his eyes, and even more lightening bolts jumped over his frame.

"You can't hold super saiyan three for long?" he asked, frowning in confusion. It certainly didn't seem that way, he hadn't sensed his son's power waning in the slightest.

The halfling laughed, a wicked smirk that was almost uncharacteristic forming on his lips, "Oh no, I can maintain it for _loads_ longer, but it's a bit too showy for me. Great for scaring off strong opponents, as dramatic of a change as it is. But I've found that the second level is the perfect balance of strength and speed, not to mention that I've fully mastered its potential."

"Is that so?" he replied in amusement, adrenaline and excitement coursing through his veins as he readied his stance once more. "Then let's see what you've got, son."

Gohan's smirk grew wider, "I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

 _22nd March, 2019._

* * *

 **Reviews:**

hawkeyestratos1996: all have potential to be included in this story. It is about Gods afterall!

izy440 : haha Im glad you liked the lines I... borrowed...? from infinity war!

Lightningblade49 : the minister isnt new, he's in dragonball super! :)

dspendragon125: thanks! hoped you enjoyed it :)

Pie 555 : haha! im so pleased youve remembered Makhai's special move! I certainly have plans for it in future chapters ;)

Kirbylover99 : thank you so much! Looks like everyone was right about the Zamasu thing! Or were they :O

Naite-Laef : your poor phone! I hope you didnt nearly break it this time!

Aaron Leach : thank you :)

Readallday1243: LOVE that line.

romanovascap: thank you so much!

Knightwing20042: actual tears of laughter.

X3runner : thanks for your review! ahhh there are so many options for future transformations! dont worry, I have coolness in mind!

romeroFan : thank you so much for your review, it really warms my heart! I am going to keep the rating as it is atm, see how I go for now, but seriously thank you. I am so happy that my story is being so well received!

smallbear99: thank you with every fibre! 3 your review meant so much!

RayQ Cina : thank you so much :) again with Zamasu, well done!

Dr. Blue22: haha! thanks for your review, to be fair, I was crying...

dolguldur: thank you!

ImmortalGodd: I hope that Perses perception of the universe became a little more clear in the chapter? ;)

Chrisfragger: thanks for your review, glad I touched a heartstring or two! as someone who works with mothers and babies I really wanted to get goku and chichi's feeling across well about their second pregnancy. I hope it came across well!

Marbbles123: ah thank you! I hope your wait was worth it!

LilRocboogie: thank you so much! I love that you love this version of Gohan! omg I KNOW right, poor Gohan, he cant seem to get a break with Videl at the moment!

darknessking675: thanks for your review. I really dont like the idea of Videl becoming a goddess, i feel it would take away the epicness of Gohan becoming a God - also, Videl is strong yes, but nowhere near as strong as Gohan. As I explained above, I would rather spend the time writing chapters when I do have it rather than spending energy giving you guys updates, it may seem harsh but I just dont have the time and really want to focus on getting this story right for you lovely lot! and Vegeta does know yes... i have an amazing idea for the reveal! xD

Neededsomething: thank you! though im sad you skipped Goku's POV :( it may have importance in later chapters :)

blazestarre : Makhai certainly would encourage that behaviour :P thanks so much im really happy you enjoyed the emotional scenes along with the lighthearted! and also thank you for your patience!

Sektor Ketchup: maybe, but remember he isnt exactly a stickler for the rules.

Malqam: thank you! ah now Gohan's hair is something I have been contemplating for a while. especially seen as that picture of his original design came out on twitter, did you see that? I am contemplating cutting it later on in the story, but sooo going to do it in a metrophorical dramatic way. For now, it is staying long and spikey!

Erin: thank you so much for your review, happy that you are enjoying it - and thanks for your later review btw ;) oooh i absolutely bricked it when you picked out an error in that naughty scene between Gohan and Videl, although sorry to point out that it wasnt there! I have re read it so many times thinking it was my eyes but nope I deffo wrote shirt and not skirt! but honestly thank you for your vigilance! :) xD Hercules and Mulan are my fave disney movies, so yehhhh a bit of inspo from there ;)

Iwik: aww thank you so much! yay I made another person cry! (wait is that mean? :o) haha I love the kissy-kissy, there will be more to come!

victor0606: thank you!

Leafeon12: thanks! I hope this chapter was worth the wait too!

FeathersofMemory: thanks so much for your review, really amazing when someone picks out all the parts they enjoyed! :) I love Makhai too, he is so much fun to write!

ThePurpleBear : thanks for your review! so happy I managed to capture everyones reactions like that for you! haha Gohan really does chat a lot of shit. I love him! hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much :)

o- Nyx -o : thanks so much! Well I do have most of the story planned out, but I pretty much write chapters out fully as I go along. Some parts are written and ill edit it fully before I post. I have a little note thing on my phone if I get ideas or quotes I can think of or utilise. I have a plan like an outline of what I wanted to achieve and then filled in bits when time goes on and I have ideas!

FireEmblemMaster101 : so glad youre loving the story! thank you! aw man I would LOVE to do a spin off of Gohan's adventures as a recruit - but booo to adult life! Im not saying it wont happen in the future though ;)

MadmanJrs : thank you so much :) yes my hubby and I were talking about Goku's characterisation not long ago, he seems to have turned into a small child again and lost all the seriousness that he gained in Z! I really liked cell saga Goku when it was all dark and heavy but he was still a bit of a goofball, totally agree with you there! Gohan is so cheeky, I really hope you liked his interactions with the other Gods in this chapter, especially a certain Kai apprentice :P

Chosen To Die: it seems as though Gohan REALLY needs to keep his cake hole shut. haha. thank you! so glad you are liking the OCs. oh makhai, he's a good one!

Guest: thank you! yes there will be interactions between the 'kids' of the gang coming up!

Statess: Goku and Vegeta will get their moments to shine xD

Alexander anders: hamiliton is life.

Austin Jones: YES!

EleazarTheUnforgotten: really hope this chapter measured up! thank you so much :)

Beta117: a while ago...

Galactic Overseer: you guessed it!

RedDragonforce 1: thanks so much! :)

DragonCrusader: almost!

TheGodfather93: thank you so much for your review, it really is a pleasure to read! Ive taken all your comments on board, so thank you! :) really glad you are enjoying this story, and that youve even read my old work! I am really enjoying your fanfiction at the mo and look forward to the update! xD

Theopgamer1002 : thank you!

N.O: laughed out loud!

Guest: wow thank you! i have no plan to terminate this story!

parko99: thanks so much! so happy youre enjoying it!

Insanity Lord: thanks for your review! HFIL is what the dub say instead of hell and i suppose it just stuck!

Sir Thames: thank you :)

Guest: thank you! glad you like the humour!

LuzyInTheSky : eek! thank you!

dx-1118 : ahh thank you! how did you find the meeting with the other deities?

Robthekiwi121: thank you!

Nyehehe: i cannot be stopped! xD

Rosegfx: Perses is a lot like Thanos in that respect, but more to his character will be revealed!

:hmmm

66: not dead! xD


	20. A God's Duty

_A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your support as always, and also for your lovely comments regarding my home life at the mo. I'm so glad that you all enjoyed the last chapter! I was so excited that I wanted to step everything up to the next part of the story. There is A LOT going on in this chapter. It's over 30 pages long and nearly 21,000 words... It is safe to say that I got a little carried away. But hopefully the massiveness of it will give you a lot to love, think over and look forward to the upcoming chapters. I think I managed to get this chapter out fairly quickly, though I'm not too sure on the schedule for the next one as I have a busy couple of weeks coming up! Hopefully when everything starts to settle then I can fuel your readers appetite in no time!_

 _Thank you all so much for your continuing love and admiration of this story. I absolutely love it and am so proud of the way it is turning out, and that I actually have fans! Speaking of - I actually came across some FAN ART which was just incredible! Its on deviant art by an artist called KeynoRoyal, I hope they dont mind me plugging them. You couldn't imagine my surprise and excitement when I saw it, go and and check it out! Fave is the one with Gohan and Videl in his little shield above Earth before their first kiss - amazing. If any of you guys have any art or doodles as a few have mentioned then please direct me to it, I would absolutely love to see it!_

 _Anyways, I am super excited for this chapter. It gets a little darker and more eh hem descriptive. You'll find out! As always, enjoy you wonderful readers! ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty**

 **A God's Duty**

 **xxxx**

 **CLASH!**

Goten looked on nervously as the night sky grew even darker around them, the sheer power emanating from the protective shield threatening to change the weather, pitch black clouds chasing away the twinkling stars. An enormous swell of electrifying Ki battered against his senses, creating golden sparks of white hot energy rippling over the atmosphere above them. Tremors rocked the ground beneath his small feet, as his father's and brother's fists connected once more, the sheer force of impact sending vibrations through his chest.

His _brother_.

It was weird to to even think about, let alone say out loud.

The young boy didn't know quite what to think when his father had returned earlier that afternoon, bloodied and dirt laden from the battle with the enormous mutated dragon, and informed him that his dead, long lost older brother had returned to Earth. His annoyance towards the man for not letting he and Trunks join in the fight had quickly diminished, and was replaced with a great deal of shock and confusion. His mother had been utterly beside herself, firstly almost fainting from the revelation, then sobbing, then screaming her head off before darting out of the door to greet her estranged son. But Goten had stayed put, not really sure just _how_ to react.

All he had heard were stories after all, stories and faded pictures of the boy with intelligent eyes and fire in his heart that lay behind the tired and regretful eyes of his parents.

He had always grown up knowing that he'd had an older brother that had disappeared into unknown realms not long before his birth. His parents had made sure of it, preserving the boys memory even when they had given up searching. But he had only found out what had truly happened to him when he was around five years old. By then, he was old enough to catch on to the hushed whispers that drifted between the adults, and the way his mother would abruptly switch off the television whenever an image of a particular golden haired child flashed onto the screen. He had grown to notice how the adults would become quiet and subdued around the same time every year, and see past the fake smiles and sympathetic glances they would give him, especially when his father would take off into space for months at a time during his early childhood.

Trunks, being a year older and wiser than him, had recognised this too. And after some careful research they had connected the dots, matching the golden haired boy on TV to the one in the photographs that would seem to haunt him when he walked through the darkened hallways of his house.

He remembered the moment that he confronted his parents vividly, his mother struggling to hold back her tears as his father recounted the heartbreaking tale of how his older brother had died, giving his life in order to save the entire world, his soul unable to pass over to The Otherworld for some unknown reason, instead lost to a realm that even magic dragons could not reach. He and Trunks had thought that it was pretty cool at first, but Goten couldn't shake the image of his father's sorrowful look, nor the pain that shone in his eyes as he told him how Gohan was able to bring an end to Cell's mighty reign of terror.

Despite it all though, he wanted to know more. And was unable to restrain himself from confronting the man again later that night after his bedtime story, his mother already having bid him goodnight before putting away the leftovers from dinner - she always made too much.

 _"Daddy?" Goten had asked, stopping his father as he made to get up from the end of his bed, his obsidian eyes regarding him curiously, "What was my brother like?"_

 _Goku let out a tumbling breath, as if the boy's words had just struck him in the gut, winding him for but a moment. He paused, his strong fingers gripping the book he was holding a little tighter - ironically one of Gohan's old favourites as his mother had informed him earlier. It was a story about a boy who would never grow up, who lived in a magical place with his friends and fought off evil pirates, armed with a sword and his fairy. Goten liked it too._

 _"He was…," his father started, then paused again, his gaze travelling to his hands before looking up to the ceiling, as though searching for the right words to say._

 _Goten was on the edge of his seat, his small fists gripping the duvet as he waited for his answer. From what he had heard, his brother had sounded so cool. He was brave and clever, and apparently was stronger than his dad, even saving the whole world - something that his young, awe-filled brain couldn't quite comprehend. Oh how he wished that he could have met him! He sounded like a lot of fun to play with._

 _"He's like an angel, Goten," said Goku finally, though he still didn't look him in the eye._

 _The young boy was confused, a little disappointed even, "What's an angel like?"_

 _He chuckled a little at that, his eyes drifting towards the open window, the cool summers night breeze washing over them in a refreshing wave of pine-scented air._

 _"I don't know really," the saiyan said with a slight shrug, turning towards the boy once more, still smiling sadly, "All I know is that when they're around, you feel all happy inside."_

 _"Oh, okay…" Goten mustered, though he was still a little puzzled._

 _"You'll understand one day," Goku sighed, rather heavily, ruffling his hair and causing it to spike up even further._

 _He pouted playfully, as his father let out a small bark of laugher, "Now get to sleep kiddo, your mum will throw a fit if she sees you still up."_

 _Goten frowned, the man's words playing on his mind as the bedroom door closed to behind him, the slight gap in the doorway leaving a faint trail of light emitting from the hall. Just what did he mean by that? Wasn't he happy with him and mummy?_

As the years pressed on, there was no doubt in his mind that his mother and father loved him. They had raised him to be the well rounded boy he was today. They had provided him with a loving home, fed him, clothed him, taught him how to read, write and more. They had trained him in the arts that they had loved and grown up with, taught him right from wrong, let him go to school, play outdoors and were forever arranging playdates and trips out with Trunks, Marron and their parents. He had a happy life, close friends and a family who positively doted on him and gave him purpose.

But even still, it always seemed as though there was something missing. Like a hole that couldn't be filled.

Like he wasn't enough.

Goten wasn't as naive as people thought. He could see it in the way his father's eyes would drift to the empty bedroom across from his, a vacant expression upon his features. He saw it in the way his mother would light up in excitement when he opened the front door unexpectedly, only to see her smile falter ever so slightly at the sight of him. As though she had expected his brother to waltz into the kitchen right after him.

 **BOOM!**

Another explosion rocked the garden, and he heard his father cough and splutter as the shield was filled with thick black smoke. Though the earth-raised saiyan didn't have that much time to recover, as Gohan suddenly appeared out of the dust clouds, punching their father straight across the jaw so hard that it caused his head to snap back. Goku growled, his long, golden hair whipping around him as he drove his boot into the teenager's side, only to find him smirking back at him, his foot already caught by his iron grasp.

Goten could see now why people marvelled at the boy so much just by watching him fight - from what he was able to follow anyway. Gohan was like a spring ready to uncoil, his movements intense and focussed, and he could just _feel_ that raw, unyielding power bubbling underneath the surface, ever since he had transformed back into a super saiyan two, the energy threatening and positively straining to be unleashed even further. Though it could have been because he was holding back.

A powerful shockwave erupted from inside the shield, as Gohan's hammer fist clashed sickeningly with his father's skull, sending him tumbling to the ground before he managed to stop himself, barely recovering before the halfling was upon him once more and they phased quickly out of sight in a blur of flurried limbs. He heard Trunks gasp loudly beside him, causing him to tear his eyes away from the fight momentarily. His best friend's mouth was agape much like the rest of the Z-gang, enthralled by the young man who was going toe to toe with no doubt their strongest warrior. Goten frowned, he wasn't a jealous boy by any means, but there was something about Trunks' awe-filled expression as he cheered for his brother that put a horrible taste in his mouth.

His father had told him that he should get to know Gohan, spend time with him even. And Goten _had_ tried, yet he felt as though he had dismissed him earlier like he was just some annoying little kid, brushing him off in favour of speaking to the _adults_ about some old crackpot demigod that was threatening the universe.

What was the point even? The child thought, what was the point of getting to know this random teenager when he was just going to up and leave again?

Granted, he had actually enjoyed the young man's company when he was Beerus as odd as it sounded. He was funny and good to tease, as well as being a great partner to play superheroes with and liked to laugh a lot with Videl. But now he knew the reality of who he truly was, he wasn't so sure. He had _lied_ to him after all, his own brother. Someone who he had been encouraged to look up to for years, strived to be just like even.

He couldn't help but feel a little betrayed.

For a start, he would never have gotten away with lying to his friends and family like that, his mother and father both would have reprimanded him for it. After all, lying was only something that _bad_ people did. It had been ingrained in him since he was young enough to understand, and to him, it was the sheer height of treachery _'Liar lair, pants on fire!'_ and all that. But his parents had just forgiven Gohan for it, everyone had - like it wasn't even that big of a deal.

Instead, they had welcomed the deceased teen with open arms, laughing and crying tears of happiness. But something just didn't sit right with Goten. Yes, his brother had defeated the greatest threat that the Earth had ever seen before Majin Buu when he was not much older than he was, and paid the ultimate price in doing so. But Gohan had chosen to stay away, _chosen_ to leave his friends and family on Earth and have amazing adventures without them. He had **_chosen_** to make their parents so unbearably sad for all those years.

He had been informed by his mother and countless others that the young boy had been incredibly kind, pure of heart and selfless. Which was admirable, given the fact that the world was ending every five minutes. Goten couldn't even imagine having the weight of the world's fate resting on his shoulders, knowing that only _his_ power alone was the only thing that could save the Earth.

So with what everyone had told him about his big brother, the fact that he had actually chosen to disappear just didn't seem to fit.

Goten knew that he could never bring himself to leave the Earth forever, to never see his loved ones again, even if he _did_ have the chance to become a powerful God or whatever. He didn't understand it. Gohan was already strong wasn't he? Surely he could have kept the universe safe without having to leave everyone. He was so strong _now_ that he was so reluctant to let anyone but himself and the Gods get involved in this upcoming fight.

It was rather insulting actually, the Z-Fighters had defeated Majin Buu for goodness sake! He and Trunks had become super saiyans at a younger age than _him_ , and they were friends with The Supreme Kai too. If there was such an evil threat looming then he was certain that the Earth's special forces could step up to the plate. But for some reason, the older halfling still refused their help. Just where was he when they were all dying against Majin Buu anyway? He was certain that the raging pink death machine certainly counted as a universal threat.

He was definitely hiding something, otherwise why would he have been so secretive in the first place? Whatever it was, Goten didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit.

But even he couldn't deny the teenager's strength. At his second level of transformation, Gohan was even _faster,_ ** _stronger_** than what they had seen of him so far. He was more powerful than his father tenfold at least, and it was more than evident that he was _still_ holding back. It seemed as though his father had noticed this too, as he quickly called for a time-out, skidding to halt in midair, as he was flung away by another one of the teenager's well-aimed strikes to the chest.

Goku panted, as he looked across the garden to his eldest son who was surrounded by a crackling golden aura, his long blue garb flowing in the breeze that he was creating - smirking brightly back at him.

The fresh orange gi that Goku had put on earlier was now tattered and scorched, yet his opponent was barely scathed, much to the elder's chargin, "Hey Vegeta, Piccolo! Mind tagging in?!"

"Tch, idiot," griped Vegeta, standing next to Trunks with his arms folded, before he jested up at the breathless man, "What's the matter Kakarot, can't even defeat a dead brat all by yourself?"

Piccolo scoffed from where he was watching the fight intently, leaning up against the wall of the house, "Really Goku? It's not like you to call for reinforcements."

"Oh it's nothing like that," he replied, a bark of excited laugher escaping him before he directed a wink towards the teenager, "I just want to see how far I can push him."

"Your funeral," Gohan shrugged, though his cheeky smile remained as he knew that it would touch a nerve.

"Is that so?" Vegeta glowered menacingly, taking a threatening step forwards and balling his hands into fists as his arms unravelled, "I'll make you regret that statement _boy."_

"That does _not_ sound like a good idea," Eris interjected, as she and the rest of The Supreme Guard stared at the mortals in disbelief, "Surely you can't be serious?"

Though despite her remark, she was ignored.

"Just so you know," the halfling teased, still smirking, a crackle of lightening rippling over his exposed torso, "I'm not going to go easy on you all just because you're up for a free bus pass this year."

The three in question whirled around to face him, spluttering and scoffing at his cheek. Why that _little_ -!

Piccolo threw off his cape and turban, his beetle black eyes shining with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. "Oh it's on now, kid."

"Bring it, old man," he called, giggling at their flabbergasted expressions.

"You're forgetting that I'm only four years older than you," the Namekian growled, as his weighted attire sank into the grass.

"Yeah but let's face it Mister Piccolo," Gohan grinned, "You were past your prime _years_ ago."

"Enough of this!" Vegeta snarled, immediately jumping to the second level of super saiyan, blowing the spectators back as lightening bolts snapped and crackled around his muscular frame. He shoulder barged the green-skinned Z-Fighter before he could opened his mouth in an angry retort, "Out of my way! I'm going to teach this damned brat some manners."

"Careful now," the teen saiyan replied mockingly, "We wouldn't want you putting your back out."

Vegeta and Piccolo growled, as his father turned towards him with a disapproving stare, "Do you _have_ to provoke them like that?"

"No, not really," said Gohan wickedly, "But Vegeta gives me so much material to work with, I wouldn't want to be wasteful."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY BOY?!"

"You know, I think this is my favourite form," Makhai sighed somewhat pridefully, causing Goten and the others to turn towards him, "As his strength and speed improve, so does his trash talk."

"He's rather cocky isn't he?" A blue-haired Launch observed, having not seen the teenager fight before other than the sparse snippets of The Cell Games that were televised.

Yamcha snorted, though didn't seem all too shocked by the young saiyan's display, "I'm just a little disappointed that he didn't face off against Cell as a teenager. The kid wouldn't have had to land a punch, Cell would have just disintegrated on the spot as soon as he opened his mouth."

There was a chuckle, and a murmur of agreement from the other fighters of the group, as the shield flickered slightly, Bulma switching off its protective properties momentarily to allow the new challengers entrance. Though as soon as it reformed, was the teenager in question suddenly ambushed.

In a flash of golden Ki, Gohan zipped effortlessly out of harms way, phasing out and appearing above them before the three could detect his movements. He shot a burning hot blast of yellow energy towards them, barely giving them time to dodge.

Vegeta seethed, kicking off the ground with a furious battle cry, his outstretched fist clashing with the his as Piccolo's boot swung towards his head. Though it appeared that the halfling was too fast, as he managed to avoid the deadly spinning kick altogether, grabbing the prince's arm and throwing him full force into the Namekian warrior, knocking them both off guard before Goku used his instant transmission technique to materialise above him, making to attack the teen from behind before he found himself being tossed over his shoulder and into the heap that was Piccolo and Vegeta.

Gohan laughed at the shocked look on their faces, before they leapt towards him once more. Vicious and determined, a brawl erupted. The tremors became even more intense, the sheer intensity of their combined power causing Goten to sweat from the impregnable heat that escaped the shield. The air was positively burning now, strikes of lightening - purple and red in colour - rippled over the clouds.

The young boy hadn't seen a fight quite like it, other than against Majin Buu, for it was now pushing far beyond the realms of a casual garden spar. Though he would rather not think back to that horrific day, nor relive the trauma of trying to stop his mind-controlled father from slaughtering his best friend, and everyone else he loved and adored. Of course his dad hadn't _meant_ it, it was all that stupid wizards fault. Though despite the words of comfort that his father gave him after the ordeal, along with the reassurance of his mother, it still didn't stop the gripping fear from resurfacing whenever he thought back to the moment when the man had _changed_.

As the months after the battle had fled by, he couldn't deny that his relationship with his father had flourished, pushing away the damning thoughts that had appeared ever since the negative Majin power had entered his mind, forcing the man to give in to his grief. He remembered how much he had screamed and cried for Gohan as the magic warped his mind, before he turned on Trunks, his fingers wrapped around his throat as he exclaimed madly how the boy was the source for his eldest's death. Spouting the ridiculous notion that if his future self had been able to stop Cell and the androids in his timeline, then Gohan wouldn't have been killed. That had been enough to make Goten transform into the ancient legend of the saiyan race, for Trunks was more of a brother to him than this guy ever was.

Since then, his father had stepped up his training, which the youngster was over the moon with. For his last birthday, he had even gifted him his old power-pole - possibly Goten's proudest moment by far. Thinking about it now, as he watched his estranged brother boot Vegeta across the grass, he couldn't help but feel a little smug. _Gohan_ had never been trusted with the power-pole. He had even heard his mother tutting about how he had even 'borrowed it without permission' a few times.

But would that change now? He couldn't help but wonder. His thoughts drifting to the power-pole that was safely tucked away in his wardrobe as another crippling wave of energy blew back his hair away from his face. Would his father suddenly exclaim that his brother was more in need of the old weapon? More deserving? He had never been able to put up such a spectacular challenge for the man after all.

The thought was certainly concerning.

He had never been compared to Gohan before, whether that was because his parents didn't do favouritism or because there was just no comparison. Even so, it was clear that they were two very different people. Despite his power, he didn't get to fight like Gohan had. His older brother was thrust into battles from when he was barely five years old. Whereas Goten had only had his first one last year by sheer circumstance and against his fathers will, and no matter how much training he did, the man was still rather reluctant to allow him to join in any real battles. He didn't understand, did his dad not have as much faith in him or something?

 **CRACK!**

Goten looked up, as the resounding clash of bone upon bone echoed around him. It appeared that the fight had reached a whole other level, Vegeta was now powered up to super saiyan three, and Piccolo's crackling aura surged with heightened energy. His father winced as the prince coughed, the pair having decided to ambush the teenager as one, but were only met with a foot and fist to the stomach respectively. Though despite the seriousness in their eyes, the foursome appeared to be smirking, his father in particular sporting the biggest grin that Goten had seen in a long time. They were _enjoying_ it, even wryly smiling at the boy who was making a mockery out of them with his words, fists and all.

Though with each hit landed, it was clear that the older warriors were getting increasingly agitated as the fight went on. Gohan yelled suddenly, his influx of power knocking them flying before slamming his knee into Vegeta's ribs and snapping his head forwards, colliding his skull with Piccolo's and shooting a electrifying ball of Ki towards his father.

"Damn it kid, just how hard is your head?!" Piccolo griped, rubbing his reddening forehead and glaring at the young saiyan's dirty move.

"Don't skip head day!" he mocked, a sudden flash of crimson lightening lighting up the garden.

"THAT'S IT!" Vegeta snarled, unimpressed by the halfling's subsequent laughter as he spat out a wad of blood and saliva.

Goten's eyes widened, as the Z-Fighters gasped, the prince outstretching his muscular arms either side of him in an all too familiar finishing pose. Ki gathering hotly, rapidly, as Goku and Piccolo shared a look, the former's arms still smoking from where he had just about managed to block his son's attack.

The earth-raised saiyan shrugged with a grin, "Full power?"

The Namekian warrior glanced back at his ex-student, who had come to rest on the ground below them, his boots apart in a strong stance, quirking an eyebrow teasingly at them. Waiting. "If we must."

Goku's grin widened, as he cupped his hands to his side, a brilliant blue ball of energy building in-between his palms, as Piccolo pressed his fingers to his temple, the air sizzling and popping around them.

"Oh HELL NO!" Bulma cried, as the entire gang realised what they were about to do, "Are you punch jockeys CRAZY?! You're going to destroy the whole city! Never mind my garden! HEY! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!"

Though her words fell on deaf ears, or ones that didn't seem to care, as the three continued to charge their attacks. The power grew so quickly and intensely around them that the shield began to quake, and Goten was certain that if they didn't stop that the entire thing was going to break.

He looked over to his brother, and his jaw utterly dropped at the sight of him. The teenager was just _standing_ there, having made no effort to even move let alone charge his own attack. He heard Krillin let out a yelp of surprise, as to the gang's horror and disbelief, did the young man actually power _down_ , his golden aura dissipating completely and his hair returning to its usual ebony.

"KA… MEH…"

"FINAAA- !"

"SPECIAL - !

"What in the bloody HELLS is he _doing_?!" Krillin cried, as an oblivious Marron cheered on for her Uncle Goku happily beside him, "Counter Gohan! For Kami's sake COUNTER!"

But Gohan did not move, the bright, all encompassing light from the building swirl of devastation reflecting in his calm onyx eyes.

"Oh no," Makhai whimpered, clapping his hands over his face, "I can't watch!"

"I _KNOW_ right?!" Yamcha spluttered, as Chi-Chi grasped onto an unsuspecting Oolong tightly beside him, unaware that she was squeezing all the air from his lungs as she looking on frantically, "He's held his own but there's no way he can deflect THAT! He's going to get himself killed! ... _Again_!"

The ginger-haired Guardian frowned, "Er… I wasn't talking about Gohan."

Goten shared a flabbergasted look with Videl behind him, whose sapphire eyes were shining with a mixture of bewilderment and terror, before their senses were flooded with a whirlwind of electrifying energy.

"HA… MEH…!"

"AAAAAAAL - !"

"BEAM - !"

The young boy snapped his gaze towards his brother once more, whose composed demeanour escaped him. Why wasn't he doing anything?! If he didn't stop the older men's attacks then it wouldn't just be West City that would be in danger! He gritted his teeth, making to cover his face with his arms like the others, before something caught his eye beyond the clouds.

He looked up curiously, as a building glow of blood red light pulsated above them, growing and growing, casting their shadows across the garden as the entire sky was shrouded by a florescent crimson flare.

"What the -?" Tien started, before it hit them.

The devastating cataclysm of raging hot Ki sliced through their senses like a scythe, just as the gigantic point of a blood red spear burst through the dark clouds, lighting up the night sky in a fearsome wave of energy. Because that was exactly what it was - energy. Gohan's energy, shaped like an enormous arrow that towered over the entirety of the Western Province.

Goten gasped. It was _colossal_.

And all the Z-gang could do was gape at the still stoic teenager as the sizzling crimson bolt shot through the sky, hurtling towards them in a catastrophic display of pure power. The energy was crippling, crushing even, so much so that it caused a sharp pain to ripple over his skull. Dirt and rocks lifted from the ground, as hurricane-like winds picked up all around them, prompting Goten to cover his eyes with his forearm, the harsh light causing him to wince.

The wind practically howled, shredding what was left of the grass apart, uprooting the patio tiles and rushing through the city streets. Goten could hear a chorus of windows shattering and brick breaking apart as car alarms whirred frantically in the distance. The fletching of the arrow looked as though it was on fire, blazing wildly as it continued to scream towards them, closer and closer with death-defying speed.

It was apocalyptic. Towering over entire city, a spiderweb of cracks and crevices crawling over the ground they stood upon. It was as though the entire Earth was about to fracture and start spewing out boiling hot lava from its very core. Several members of the gang screamed and hollered, struggling to stand or even fly against the high wind as they were forcibly knocked off of their feet, dodging the deep holes that were quickly forming around them, Bee barking loudly and aggressively at the rapidly approaching shape of energy.

It felt as though his senses were being assaulted by the fierce influx of razor-like Ki, and it didn't take long before his father, Vegeta and Piccolo noticed just what was happening too, their power wavering slightly out of the shock and panic of the speeding arrow that was headed straight for them. The jagged edge, swirling with crimson particles, suddenly broke through the golden shield that encased them, causing it to shatter thunderously on impact.

They had no choice.

With a mighty, unrestrained roar, the windswept trio re-directed their most deadly attacks towards it, unleashing a barbarous onslaught that was originally meant for the halfling in a raging shockwave of rip-roaring energy. The blasts connected onto the arrows point, and for a moment Goten thought that it might slice right through the colourful beams when -

 **KA-BOOM!**

It detonated. The force resembling that of an earthquake, the sound utterly deafening as his vision went white for a split second. His senses were dulled, his ears ringing as he slowly looked around him, blinking back his sight. Immediately, he looked over to his mother, Videl and Trunks, who he was relieved to find had been protected like everyone else by the silver forcefield that Bia had conjured around them just before the explosion hit.

Though Goten could not see what lay behind it, as dust clouds continued to unfurl before them, the state of the garden and combatants unknown. But just as he worriedly stretched out his senses to search for his father's Ki, did the clouds disperse and he made out his father, Vegeta and Piccolo spread out in an enormous crater in the ground, the saiyans hair back to black and all of their clothes in tatters.

He gasped, as Gohan stood before them, his garb a little grubby but all around unscathed, pointing the sharp edge of the Z-Sword directly in-between his father's eyes. And with what Goten could only describe as a cold, and calculated look upon his features. For a split second, he could have sworn that the young man was going to drive the ancient relic right through his skull.

Goku yelped, suddenly aware of the teenager who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He gulped as his comrades sat up wearily, his obsidian eyes darting between the young man and the sword with a startled and almost terror stricken gaze. Though it appeared to vanish with the moment, as Gohan smiled, pulling away the blade and holding a hand out to his father.

"Good fight Dad," the halfling grinned, hoisting the man up to his feet as soon as he excepted the gesture.

"G-Gohan," he breathed, shock and pride encompassing him all at once, "That was _incredible._ I can't believe your power, it's amazing! I could barely keep up!"

Though before he could reply, did Bulma's irate screech echo around them, waving her smoking controller in the air, "I'll say! Just how many of my inventions are you going to break, kid?!"

The occupants of the garden couldn't help but laugh, as the teenager lowered his head guiltily.

"Sorry Bulma," he blushed, before a hotheaded and singed Vegeta knocked his fellow saiyan out of the way.

"Are you insane boy?! What the _hell_ was that?!"

He shrugged in response, though his eyes held a playful glint as he casually rested the Z-Sword on his shoulder, "It's a technique that I developed myself. My mentors were always going on about making my power my own, because all I seemed to be using was what I learned from you lot. I wanted an attack that would catch enemies off guard, and what better than one that tricked them into thinking that I was fighting seriously and didn't know that I was charging it the entire time."

Their jaws practically dropped to the floor, as the halfling grinned back, answering the questions that were swirling around in their minds, "It does use up quite a bit of energy as it gathers, a bit like the spirit bomb but using my own Ki, which is why you saw me drop out of super saiyan."

"W-wait," Krillin mustered disbelievingly from the sidelines, the protective forcefield disappearing with a brisk wave of Bia's hand, "That was all of your power in that thing?!"

"Well not _all_ of it," said Gohan, "I didn't want to split the planet apart."

"Wait, what?!" Yamcha positively shrieked, "That move could've destroyed the Earth and you shot it right at us?!"

The teenager shrugged simply, "I knew they'd have it."

"So it's based off the spirit bomb?" Piccolo asked, impressed as he came to stand next to a still raging Vegeta.

"A little," Gohan grinned back at them, "But it cuts a lot of energy if I use it properly, so you could say it's got a lot of intensity like the Tri-Beam too. But I actually based the shape off of the arrows that Alala uses in battle, I just thought it was pretty cool."

The girl in question practically beamed, as the group noticed the bow she had strapped over her shoulders.

"So what's this technique of yours called?" Goku asked, smiling proudly, "It's incredibly powerful."

"Mass extinction."

Master Roshi whistled, as their eyes widened, and Gohan quickly averted his eyes away from them, as though he had said something he shouldn't have.

Odd, Goten thought.

"Mass _extinction_?" Roshi chortled, "Sounds a bit brutal, don't you think?"

The young man chuckled almost nervously, as Chaiozu mustered, "It doesn't really do that right?"

"Er… no?"

Goku laughed heartily, clapping him on the back, "I'd like to see those evil Gods try and stand up against you with a move like _that_! Great job son, you've learned a lot!"

"Thanks," he replied, though a little more reserved than before.

"So now we've seen this power of yours, how do you think you'd fair against Perses if he escaped?" asked Piccolo seriously, quirking Vegeta's interest.

Gohan sighed heavily, "Probably not very well, seen as not even the God I'm succeeding could defeat him, and I can barely land a punch on _him_."

The Z-gang looked rather flabbergasted, though before they could ask any more questions, did Chi-Chi cut across them.

"I think that's enough talk about evil deities for one night," the ox-princess huffed, though directed a playful smile towards her eldest son, "My poor boy hasn't even eaten yet!"

As soon as the words left her lips, did a loud earthquaking growl emit from the young saiyan's stomach, causing the occupants of the garden to roar with laughter.

Goten followed the group back into the house, his mother linking arms with his brother and leading the way to the kitchen. He was silent as the gang spoke around them, listening to Trunks and Marron spout excitedly about how awesome the teen's power was, and wondering if he'd teach them any moves like the one he had just displayed. Bulma was sighing and cursing behind him, exclaiming to Eighteen how she was going to have to come up with an elaborate excuse for the public, in order to explain how a giant red arrow just soared over West City - though the blonde android informed her that the firework testing excuse had always been a good call.

As he entered the crowded kitchen, he stopped short, watching his mother order Gohan into a seat before taking out trays upon trays of tantalising leftovers from the fridge and placing it on the table in front of him. His brother practically salivated at the sight.

"Mum?" Gohan said, turning towards her as she placed another mountainous plate before him.

"Yes sweetheart?"

"I love you."

Chi-Chi laughed, kissing him sweetly on the cheek, a round of chuckles escaping the large group, "I love you too. Now eat up before you waste away!"

Makhai snorted, "There's not much chance in that."

"Do you _want_ me to break your other eight toes?" Gohan threatened dangerously, pulling the largest plate of sandwiches towards him.

The ginger-haired teen scoffed, "Jokes on you, I've only got six."

Goten lingered at the doorway, as the gang gathered around his brother as he ate, laughed and chatted with the others. Regardless of his long absence, he just seemed to _fit in_. Fluidly, effortlessly, as if he had never been gone in the first place.

He quirked an eyebrow, as Videl sat down in the seat next to Gohan, stealing a sandwich from his plate as she did so. From this angle, he could see the girl's hand caress his knee under the table, prompting the halfling to turn towards her with a sly wink that appeared to go unnoticed by the others. Just what was _that_ all about?Whatever it was, the happiness that radiated from the kitchen was short lived. For when Gohan had completed his mission on Earth and summoned Shenron, would he leave again. Yet the reality of his brother's death would still linger, like a bad smell that refused to go away.

But Goten knew, as he watched his mother lovingly kiss the teenager's cheek again and his father fondly ruffle his hair, that even when he had returned to the realm of Gods, and left the Earth for the final time, that he would still think back to that moment and forever wonder if he had ever made his mother smile that brightly or his father laugh that loud.

* * *

"I'm telling you, you won't do it."

"Nonsense! It's a damned _sword_!"

"A sword that you won't lift."

"You just watch me -! "

"Yeah, watch you embarrass yourself."

"Don't test me, brat."

"Look," Gohan sighed, "all I'm saying is that nearly everyone has had a go so far and failed, what makes you think you're any different?"

"Because _I_ am Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans, the super elite!" he snapped back, "I will not be bested by a stupid dagger!"

"Oi, do you mind? He's sensitive about that."

Vegeta growled, turning away from the half-saiyan lounging in the armchair, and ignoring the snickers that escaped the fighters surrounding them.

"Just so we're clear," the prince suddenly grinned evilly as he stood, "If I lift this then I'll become the new successor to Lord Beerus?"

The teenager took a sip from his bottle of beer, smirking back at him, "That's the gist."

"Oh, you're going to regret this," Vegeta cackled, an air of cockiness surrounding him as he walked over to the ancient relic that Gohan had placed on the coffee table moments earlier, before all the ruckus began.

The young Destroyer's 'welcome home' party was now in full swing, with the kitchen and living room filled with all of his family and friends. He was basking in the warmth that emitted from his loved ones, the impending threat of looming battle falling to the back of his mind for but a moment as he laughed, drank and ate to his hearts content.

With his belly full from his mother and Launch's wonderful cooking, he had all but retired to the living room with Videl and members of The Supreme Guard, when his father had joined them and asked to see his sword up close, absolutely dumbfounded when he couldn't lift it. As were the rest of the Z-Fighters.

Several beers and copious rounds of banter later, it had turned out into an all out competition to see if any one of Earth's warriors could even make the sword move a centimetre in its place. Though so far all had failed, rather stupendously too, walking away with sore backsides and beads of sweat trailing down their brows. One of Gohan's favourite defeats so far had to be when a rather drunk, overly boastful Mister Satan had pulled on the hilt so hard that he had flung himself right across the room and nearly made a 'Hercule-shaped' hole in the wall. It didn't help that Z was cackling madly at the man either.

"Don't be too hard on yourself Vegeta," his father jested from where he was sat next to Krillin, both of them a little merry, "You've had a tough week, we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up."

Vegeta growled menacingly, as Yamcha leaned over the back of the sofa to high-five him, the others snorting with laughter.

"Shut up Kakarot! You couldn't even move the damned thing!"

"Yeah, he's got you there Goku," Makhai observed, loving every second of how the challenge was playing out, "Though I have to say that none of your failures were quite as spectacular as Kratos'."

"What?!" the hulking Guardian spluttered angrily, "You slipped over backwards and landed on your _face_! Who _does_ that?!"

"Yeah, but at least I didn't cry like a little girl about losing to Gohan."

"I DID NOT - !"

"Hey be quiet you two," Alala scolded, before smiling brightly up at Vegeta, "You've all had your turns, now let Vegeta have his."

The man in question snorted gruffly, the room suddenly becoming silent as the prince roughly grasped the hilt of the Z-Sword and pulled.

"W-what the - ?" he gasped, his muscles straining as he struggled against the great resistance, the ancient relic refusing to budge.

"What was that about you not being bested by a 'stupid dagger'?' Gohan called over to him with a wicked grin, causing the others to erupt again.

Though this only seemed to anger the prince further, and with a snarl he burst into his super saiyan form, prising, twisting and hauling desperately at the sword with all his might, his pulsating aura picking up the air around them = but to no avail.

A vein protruded in his forehead, as his power began to rise, threatening to ascend even further, lightening bolts jolting and snapping around his demanding arms -

"VEGETA!" Bulma cried suddenly, running into the living room in a frenzy, her blue eyes positively wild," _What_ did I tell you about going super saiyan indoors?! I don't want our house destroyed as well as the garden! We only JUST finished patching the hole you left last week!"

At his wife's exasperated words, he complied. Dropping out of his transformation and letting go of the Z-Sword with a growl of fury, the raging winds ceasing abruptly. Gohan and the rest of the fighters struggled to contain their mirth, as the prince positively glared at the teenager before spinning on his heel and leaving to sulk in the corner.

"Too bad Vegeta," Piccolo smirked from where he was leaning up the wall as he passed.

"Piss off Namekian," he shot back, "At least I didn't rip my arm off trying to lift the damned thing like _someone_ we know."

The taller warrior bared his teeth in anger, "That was a _tactical_ move and you know it!"

"Keep telling yourself that," he snorted, eyeing the stumpy appendage and directing a sneer towards him, causing him to growl in agitation, "How's that new arm coming along by the way?"

"I just don't understand how you do it," Krillin mustered, getting up from his seat and giving the stubborn weapon another great heave, laughing hopelessly when it didn't move just like the last time he tried it, "I mean, it's _got_ to be some sort of trick."

The teenager shrugged whimsically, sipping his beer in response. If he told them that his sword could stalk, then they would most certainly think so. Then again, he wasn't sure that they would believe him seen as only he could hear him.

"Maybe it has a tracker of some kind," Eighteen quipped, swirling a glass of wine in her hand, wringing her wrist that was still a little sore from her try, "Like it can only recognise Gohan's fingerprints or something."

Deimos scoffed at the idea, "Its an ancient prophesied sword that has been trapped within stone in a sacred realm of Gods for billions of years, possibly since the dawn of existence. Who knows how it got there, no Kai in billions of millennia could remember a time when it _wasn't_ there. I highly doubt that whoever sheathed it in stone had Gohan's fingerprints, or had any sort of technology that allowed it to place trackers within the thing."

"I just think the whole thing is weird," said Goku thoughtfully, his own drink in hand and a bowl of popcorn in his lap, "I mean, why would the sword choose Gohan?"

"It remains a mystery - ," Bia started, but was suddenly interrupted by Vegeta.

"It remains a crock of shit," he glowered, "For once in his life, I think baldly is right. It's a trick."

"It's an interesting theory, although I _do_ have a much simpler one," Gohan grinned cheekily, getting to his feet and effortlessly swiping the ancient relic off the table with no resistance at all, spinning it around in his palm much to their annoyance, "You're just not worthy."

Laughter escaped the group, as Vegeta huffed haughtily at his display.

"Aw don't be such a sore loser Vegeta," Videl quirked playfully from where she was perched on the armrest of Gohan's chair, giggling at the agitated look on his face.

"Yeah," Makhai smiled wickedly, "Instead, do what I do and take solace in the fact that it took _ages_ for Gohan to master it. I do believe the first time he swung it, it sent him crashing through a mountain range. Though between you and me, I think his pride was hurt more than his head."

"Oh shut up," the Junior Destroyer scowled, as the warriors were sent into hysterics.

Once Z was safely tucked away in his scabbard where he belonged, did the warriors of the group disperse, gravitating in small groups around the ground floor of the complex, his friends and family mingling with the members of The Supreme Guard as the children were sent to Trunks' room to play. Friendly chatter and jovial laughter washed over his ears in refreshing waves, the moment of peace not lost on Gohan as he pushed through the crowd on his way back from the bathroom, in search of another drink.

He was stopped several times by the gang ruffling his hair or clapping him on the back, every pair of eyes happy to see him, and each person exclaiming how much they had missed him over and over again as they got drunker and merrier. Music that he didn't recognise blasted from the speakers that Bulma had set up in the living room, the bass sending vibrations through his chest. Though he wasn't paying too much attention to it, as he relished in the sounds and shapes of the conversations going on around him.

His grandfather, Puar and Turtle were sat hunched over the coffee table with Chaiozu, muttering to themselves and goading one another as they played a game of cards. His mother was nestled in between Eighteen and Bulma, as they chatted girlishly with Launch, Bia and Alala, a red blush painting their cheeks as his mother and Bulma started to giggle uncontrollably. Though Gohan couldn't tell if it was from the wine they were drinking or the conversation at hand - either way, he surmised that he really didn't want to know.

He spotted Videl over by his father, who was having a heated discussion with Vegeta, Tien and Kratos about fighting techniques.

"Interesting," he heard Kratos muster thoughtfully, speaking directly to Tien, "Multi-form you say?"

"Not great for elevating your power though," said Videl wisely, "If anything it cuts your energy drastically the more forms you create. The best boost in power I've found so far in my training is the Kiao-Ken."

"Kiao-Ken?" Kratos blinked disbelievingly, "Isn't that a Kai's technique?"

"Yeah!" His father chimed in happily, "I learned it from the King Kai of our galaxy when I died the first time, and I taught it to Videl here not too long ago. It's really useful."

"Wait, the _first_ time you died?"

"I came back with the dragonballs," Goku nodded, taking a sip of his drink before continuing, "I learned as much as I could from King Kai before I was wished back, mainly because Vegeta was coming to Earth to destroy it and take the dragonballs for himself - "

"Oh ho, wait a minute Kakarot," Vegeta grinned evilly as Kratos looked rather baffled by the notion that the pair could even stand to be in the same room as each other - let alone engage in a friendly barter, "Let me be the one to tell _this_ story."

"Why?" Videl scoffed, causing her mentor to giggle, "I thought that was the battle where you got your arse handed to you by a five year old."

"Be quiet you damned harpy, that is _not_ how it happened!"

Gohan shook his head in amusement, turning into the kitchen when a roar of laughter assaulted his eardrums. Spotting Makhai, Eris, Deimos with Yamcha, Krillin, Oolong and Master Roshi standing in a huddle. The majority of them were doubled over with mirth, Krillin even pounding his fist on the countertop he was laughing so hard. Uncaring of the dent he made in it.

"Alright, alright," Yamcha puffed, tears in his eyes, "Best pick up lines you've ever heard - go."

Deimos giggled uncharacteristically, his pointed ears burning bright red, a definitive sign that he had drank too much already, "You mean on missions? Uhhhh… Ahh, I can't seem to think of one…"

"OOH OOH! I've got one!" Makhai positively bounced on his heels, grinning giddily, "Alright, see if you can guess who came up with this gem!"

The ginger-haired teen cleared his throat rather aggressively, before bowing in a dramatic fashion in front of a less than impressed Eris, clutching her hand desperately before kissing it rather sloppily, "If it takes a war for us to meet, then it will have been worth it."

"That was Gohan!" Deimos blurted drunkenly, still giggling, as Krillin and Yamcha squawked in disbelief.

"Correct my good sir! You may take another shot!" Makhai chortled as the green-skinned hellion followed suit, the Earthlings looking rather flabbergasted as he began to explain, "It was during a huge war that we had to put an end to over in the Eastern Galaxy a few years back. The King of the defending army had a load of smoking hot daughters who -"

"Oh come off it Makhai," Eris snorted, cutting across him reproachfully, as Roshi's glasses slipped all the way down his nose in anticipation, "I know for a fact that you only dared Gohan to say that because he didn't want to lose some stupid bet you two had."

"Hey, that doesn't matter," the boy jested, "If anything he should be grateful. It _did_ get him a dance with the pretty warrior princess. Not to mention the rousing game of tonsil tennis behind that old tapestry."

Once again, they erupted with laughter, blissfully unaware of the now red-faced halfling standing in the doorway.

"Wow, who knew that Gohan would turn out to be such a big hit with the ladies?" Yamcha guffawed, wiping a stray tear from his eyes.

"Speaking of ladies," The old turtle hermit quirked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, "What's the deal with the blonde? She single?"

Deimos was still laughing, as Eris looked rather unimpressed by the man drooling all over her comrade.

Though Makhai took it in good humour, "Well everyone knows that Kratos fancies her, but he's way too much of a stiff to do anything about it, much less make a move."

"Is that so?" Roshi cooed, causing Oolong to snort.

"I wouldn't bother Roshi, she's probably older than you," he said pointedly.

"Not to mention that she'd snap you like a twig if you ever dared to put your hands on her," Eris glowered, causing Makhai to whistle.

"Yeah, she may look all sweet and innocent, but she's as deadly as they come," he observed thoughtfully, "No wonder Kratos has no chance."

For want of not getting caught, Gohan stealthily grabbed another bottle of beer from the kitchen island before making his escape. He certainly didn't want to be subjected to Krillin and Yamcha's relentless teasing, nor the embarrassing questions they were bound to ask him about any other past 'escapades'. Mission complete, he swiftly turned back towards the living room, making a mental note to have a _serious_ word with Makhai later, when he suddenly and quite literally bumped into Mister Satan.

"Whoops, sorry," The young Destroyer apologised, snatching the man by the arm before he hit the ground. Though he was glad to find that the former Champ had sobered up considerably from earlier, as he looked back up at him with a hearty grin, able to steady himself even though the force of Gohan walking into him had nearly sent him flying.

"Oh it's no bother," Hercule replied, his bright blue eyes glinting at him rather fondly, much to his confusion, "Actually, I was looking for you."

"You were?" Gohan quirked, wondering just what the man would want _him_ for. Unless…

 _Shit._ Did he know that he'd been snogging his daughter?!

Not that he was at all threatened by Mister Satan. Not in the slightest. Though if he meant to find Gohan to give him some kind of weird 'Dad talk' about doing right by Videl or whatever, then it would be utterly mortifying. Not to mention that it was a conversation that the young saiyan _certainly_ did not want to have.

He watched with baited breath as Hercule nodded, before he suddenly threw his arms around him in an enormous hug, startling Gohan so much so that he nearly dropped his drink. It was incredibly uncomfortable, as the man continued to hold onto him for dear life, pulling his head downwards so that the teenager's face was buried in the mass of curly chest hair that protruded from his shirt. The halfling scrunched up his eyes tightly, as a sneeze was threatening, one of the thick hairs sticking in his nostril.

Luckily, before he managed to unleash said sneeze and accidentally erase Capsule Corp. and all who resided in it, did the hulking man pull back, his eyes shining with tears as he beheld the young man who breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The danger over as quickly as it had come.

"I just wanted to say thank you," Mister Satan sniffed, " _Thank you_ , for saving my daughter on that day all those years ago. I-I just wanted to say it, because well… I never got the chance. When you -."

He paused, catching himself before he continued, though Gohan could only stare, "What happened to you at The Cell Games, well, it could have easily happened to Videl too. She was all I had. And Cell… he was such a monster that he didn't even think twice about murdering a child. I-I know you must think me a terrible father, for not noticing that the little tike had stowed away in the boot of my limo, but I - "

"I don't think that you're a terrible father," The teenager implored suddenly, causing the man's eyes to widen, "In fact, I think you're a great one. You've raised one amazing daughter Mister Satan, and if I'm being honest, I think that even if you _had_ noticed that she'd snuck out, she wouldn't have gone down without a fight."

He smiled brightly at that, "Thank you. You're a good kid. And please, call me Hercule."

"Alright Hercule," he said with a small chuckle, as the man positively beamed at him.

"And hey," Hercule continued with a sudden booming laugh, "If you want any tips on holding off the paparazzi whilst you're here then you just come straight to me! It must have been a real shocker to find out how famous you are on Earth, but I used to be quite the bigwig when I first won the Championship you know. Just say the word and I'll let you come round to my place and watch some old videos of how I dealt with the swarm of fans. There's hundreds of them, but it shouldn't take that long to get though."

"Oh er, thanks?" Gohan replied uncertainly, "But I'm not really planning on telling anyone else I'm here. Especially not the press…"

"Nonsense my boy, you're a celebrity now!" he chortled, tossing an arm over his shoulder in comradery, "I can give you all the pointers. Now the first thing you need to do is work on building that chest hair of yours, that way you might not look so scrawny - "

"Dad, what are you doing?"

The young saiyan had never been so glad of an interruption in his life. His eyes meeting the incredulous stare of Videl, who had walked out into the hallway, no doubt in search of him.

"Oh hi sweetie!" Mister Satan smiled, "I was just giving Gohan here a few tips on how to handle his fans."

The girl rolled her eyes playfully, "Stop pestering him would you? Your taxi is here."

"Ah right you are," he replied happily, giving her a hug and kissing her atop her raven hair, "Don't want to leave Buu to sleep too long. Honestly, with those long naps of his he could practically sleep for weeks at a time if I let him go into a deep sleep! It's lucky you lot didn't need him during that fight earlier what with Gohan here!"

"Bye Dad, see you soon," Videl chuckled, returning the warm hug as the man turned back and winked at the halfling.

"And remember what I said Gohan, see you."

"See you Hercule, nice talking to you," he smiled back, watching his retreating form until he disappeared back into the living room in order to bid everyone else a goodnight.

"Since when are you on first name terms with my dad?" Videl quirked, eyeing him in amusement.

Gohan shrugged, giving her a disgruntled look, "Since around the same time he starting giving me tips on how to fully grow my body hair."

She let out a snort of laughter, prompting the young saiyan's scowl to deepen.

"Oh don't pout wonder boy," Videl jested, stepping closer to him and smoothing her hands over his exposed torso, her fingertips gently brushing his jagged scars and causing him to shudder at her touch, "From what I've seen so far, I'd say that you're pretty damned perfect as you are."

His eyebrows shot to his hairline, her hot breath tickling his lips as she smirked devilishly at him, her nose inches from his as she stood on her tiptoes to reach him.

" _You know_ ," she continued suggestively, her hands finally coming to rest on his strong shoulders, "It's a shame that you've revealed yourself in a way."

"How so?" he asked, confused. Though he held onto her waist as she drew closer to him.

"Because your parents will want to take you back home to their place," she told him, her lips brushing his ever so slightly before she moved around to his neck and whispered into his ear, "And I'd quite like to carry on where we left off earlier in the corridor before you were whisked off to your God meeting."

 _Oh._

Gohan gulped, the air around them suddenly becoming hot and heavy. Heat rose to his cheeks and to other more sensitive areas, as he failed to stop the sudden rush of adrenaline and excitement from flooding through him.

He grinned cheekily, "Oh _really_ now?"

She grinned back, before entangling her fingers in his hair and pulling him to her lips, his beer bottle dropping to the floor as his other hand moved to trace her curves -

" _Hem hem."_

They jumped apart faster than lightening, their lips barely making contact before they were so rudely interrupted. The young saiyan whirled around quickly, his eyes clapping sight on non other than Makhai, who was standing at the other end of the hallway, his arms folded and a disapproving stare upon his features.

Gohan was _certain_ that he hadn't seen anything, as he hadn't even felt his Ki approach until a millisecond ago. So it was even more likely that he hadn't heard anything either. As well as that, it had all happened so quickly that he might not have even caught onto the fact that they had nearly kissed...Maybe. Although, he thought grimly, looking back at Videl, it was rather obvious how close they had been to each other.

This did not look good.

"Oh, hi Makhai," greeted Videl, smiling a him innocently as if nothing had happened, and that their flushed cheeks weren't a dead give-away.

The ex-hellion silently regarded her for a few moments, before he turned to the young Destroyer with judging amber eyes, "Gohan, can I have a word?"

"Er, yeah alright," He nodded, giving the girl next to him an apologetic smile, "I'll be right back."

She winked back, before he followed his silent friend down the opposite end of the hallway and out of sight.

Rounding the corner, and even further away from the party, he turned to him, "What is it - ? OI!"

Gohan yelped, as Makhai opened the closet door beside them and barrelled them both inside. The young saiyan tumbled over the pile of coats, shoes and umbrellas, almost knocking his head on a shelf before he finally managed to find the light. He pulled roughly on the string dangling from the ceiling, the naked bulb bathing the pair in a dull yellow glow.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?!" He growled harshly at the boy in question.

"ME?!" Makhai scoffed, "Shouldn't I be asking _you_ that?!"

"What _are_ you on about?" Gohan snarled, the cupboard they were in didn't leave much room to manoeuvre, and as such the teens had their backs pressed against the wall in a most uncomfortable manner.

His best friend scoffed, as though it was completely obvious, "The **_GIRL_**?!"

His eyes widened. Uh oh.

"N-nothing is going on -," Gohan started, though Makhai cut across him quickly.

" _Bullshit_!" He hissed right in his face, their noses almost touching as his eyes narrowed, "I can practically see the little love hearts and cherubs circling above your head!"

"I don't - ! Wait, what?"

"If nothing is ' _going on_ ' Gohan, then why were you shoving your tongue down her throat?" He continued to argue, causing the halfling to blush bright red.

"I wasn't!" He fretted, trying to come up with an excuse, "S-she just had something in her eye, and I was trying to help her get it out - !"

Makhai snorted, folding his arms across his chest, "That's as about believable as me being named a patron saint of my home planet. Which if you haven't caught onto by now, was blown to smithereens the best part of forty years ago. And if you want further clarification my naive young friend, all you have to do is look _down…_ "

Gohan frowned, following his gaze to the front of his gi trousers, his face glowing bright crimson as he frantically covered the space below his belt with his hands, which was incredibly difficult to do so, what with such a limited amount of space between them.

"Alright _fine_!" he positively seethed in both anger and embarrassment, meeting the boy's telling stare, "I like her! Happy?!"

" _Happy_?!" Makhai's pitch seemed to reach new heights, before he gave him a pointed look, "I think that this is a lot more serious than that little crush you had on Alala."

"I _told_ you never to mention that!" he spouted hotly, causing the Lethien to giggle.

"I know, but it's funny."

"Shut up!" the young Destroyer snapped, before he sighed in despair, resting the back of his head against the wall, "Ugh, what am I going to do?"

Makhai's eyes widened, "What do you mean? You do _nothing_ Sparky. Plain and simple."

Gohan bit his lip hesitantly, prompting the other teen to give him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, "Look, I'm all for you _finally_ getting your rocks off - lets face it, it's just getting sad now - but you're stepping on dangerous territory."

He shot his so-called best friend a most hateful glare, as he continued with a shrug, "I mean there's no particular rules about bedding mortals -"

"Don't say it like that!" he hissed, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"- but anything developing past the realms of hanky panky is another thing altogether."

"You really have a way with words, don't you?" the halfling drawled, though Makhai stood his ground.

"Gohan, I'm serious," he frowned, "I've seen the way you've been looking at her all night. This is just asking for trouble."

"I have thought about the repercussions you know."

"And that's what concerns me the most," the ginger-haired Guardian replied firmly, "Because it doesn't appear to be sinking into that thick half-saiyan skull of yours."

"I know," he sighed again, trying and failing to find the words, "But Videl… she's just…"

" _Just_?" Makhai pressed, eyeing him.

"Amazing, beautiful, funny," Gohan blurted,"She's strong, and brave and stubborn with a real mean right hook. She does this little thing with her hair when she laughs, and _Gods_ those eyes Makhai, I've never seen a blue like that before, they just -"

He was cut short, by the boy rolling his eyes at him, "You talk about her as though she puts the stars in the sky or something."

The young saiyan exhaled almost longingly, the words falling from his mouth before he could stop himself, "She's the light behind the whole bloody galaxy."

Makhai's eyes bulged to the size of saucers, so much so, that he could have sworn that they were about to pop out of his head,"Great Zalama among us, it's worse than I thought."

Gohan blinked, "Huh?"

"You're in love with her!" He shouted, pointing an accusatory finger right at him.

"I-I am not!" the halfling yelled, sputtering madly at the accusation.

Makhai gasped, as though he had just figured something out, "You've _already_ kissed her haven't you?! That wasn't the first time!"

"N-No! We haven't - !" His voice faltered as the Guardian gave him a look that said _'yeah, right'._ "Alright _maybe_ I have kissed her a few times, but that's besides the point!"

Makhai raised an eyebrow, "How many times?"

Gohan gaped angrily, "Is that really that important to you?!"

"Yes!"

He frowned, giving his the boy a scathing look, "This is because you want details, isn't it?"

"Oh _desperately_ ," he practically sang, clapping his hands together with an evil grin on his face.

"Then no! I'm not telling!" he spouted hotly, as Makhai let out a low whistle.

"Wow, too many times to count then eh?"

"SHUT UP!"

As Makhai's subsequent giggles began to dissipate, Gohan attempted to calm down, running a hand through his messy hair out of frustration.

"When I came back to Earth, I never expected anything like this," he admitted, causing his friend's gaze to soften, "I didn't even want to bump into my friends and family, the thought that I would meet someone like Videl never even crossed my mind, or that she could make me feel this way. I didn't even know what it was at first, this feeling. It's only been a week, but everything was just so fast and intense, and then before I knew it I couldn't _stand_ not being around her."

"You're right, that does sound intense," Makhai offered, his amber eyes searching him, as if trying to figure out a way to make it all better.

"Damn it!" The teenager cried suddenly, making the other boy jump as he slammed his fist into the back wall, causing a sizeable crack in the brickwork, "I _hate_ this. It can't just be this way Makhai, it just isn't fair! You can't mean to tell me that no other God as been in love with someone at some point? Look at Lord Beerus, he's _billions_ of years old. He has to have fallen for someone like this before!"

"Lord Beerus is a giant cat Gohan," he snorted, "He loves naps, balls of string, sardines and having his tummy rubbed on occasion. That is it."

Gohan rubbed at his temples, closing his eyes in irritation as the boy continued, "Look, I don't know about those other Gods, but since the whole Perses palaver the rules are even stricter now. The Western Supreme Kai fell in _love_ with a mortal, and she was going to abandon her duty for the kid that came out of it, which could have plunged everything into imbalance. But even though she did return to where she belonged, it still all went tits up anyway. Didn't help that baby Perses ended up turning into a right evil bastard either. Surely you can understand that?"

"Yeah," he breathed finally, after a moments thought, "Yeah I know. I know the rules, I just… _Gods_ I am so going to deck Perses for ruining this for me if he escapes."

"Aaaaand he's back," Makhai joked, though let out a sad sigh at the sight of the halfling's helpless onyx eyes, "Gohan, you're a Destroyer, I literally have no authority over you. But as your friend, your _best_ friend, I have to tell you that if you pursue her then it's going to be trouble. And I mean big trouble. I'm not just talking about how hard it's going to be on you when you have to leave. Please, don't do it to yourself. I don't want to see you beating yourself up over it."

Gohan swallowed thickly, the dull light of the exposed bulb hanging between them as the boy clapped him firmly the shoulder.

 _Damn it_.

* * *

Slowly but surely, the party wound down and it was after midnight when the Z-gang started to part ways, making Gohan promise to see them all again before he left for the realm of Gods. Though Bulma had informed them that she was sure they would, as she was already making big plans for her birthday party next month. The Supreme Guard took their leave with a wave and a blinding flash of light as Kratos teleported them back to the Kai's sacred realm, but not before the young saiyan had received hugs from Makhai, Alala and Bia and a playful punch to the arm from Eris. Kratos merely grunted his goodbye, with an unconscious Deimos slung over his shoulder.

"Keep out of trouble now!" Makhai winked back at him just before they teleported away, "But if you manage to find some of the good kind, then remember to call me!"

His father had laughed once they had disappeared, smiling brightly at him, "You've made some great friends there kiddo."

The young saiyan nodded, giving him a small smile back, before he bid goodnight to the rest of the gang, Piccolo reminding him to stop by for a spot of training with them tomorrow, as even though the teen still refused their help, it would be good for the rest of the Z-Fighters to be prepared if any other dark creatures showed up on Earth again.

He had barely managed to bid Videl a proper goodbye under the gangs watchful eyes. Instead giving her a short hug and informing her that he would see her soon, failing to hide the blush that marred his cheeks as he thought back to the incident in the hallway. She gave him a disarmingly beautiful smile, which threatened to make him keel over all over again, as his father called out to him that it was time to head home.

It was surreal, making the familiar journey from Capsule Corp. back to his old home at the edge of the forest, though he felt a little more relaxed knowing that he could now be himself. His mother and brother had travelled on Nimbus, as he and his father flew beside them. He breathed in the glorious smell of the countryside as they drew nearer to the Eastern mountains, though it was rather difficult to see the stars due to the storm clouds that had sprawled across the sky, billowing in from the West. It wasn't particularly unusual, he had experienced thunderstorms in the summer before whilst on Earth, though the drastic change in weather may have been due to the amount of power being thrown around earlier. Particularly seen as he had used the Mass Extinction. He winced at the brassy glare that seemed to drain all the colour from the trees, the smell of the impending rain dark and heady in the early June air. He _probably_ shouldn't have tried to show off so much…

Goten was ordered to bed as soon as they landed outside the small thatched cottage, seen as it was now _way_ past his bedtime. Gohan couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, as he hadn't had much chance to speak to the boy. His little brother had spent the majority of the night in Trunks' bedroom, though the purple haired prince had ventured out to ask him about his 'awesome' sword and if he had time to show him some moves. It was a little odd, though he reasoned that Goten was busy playing a video game or something.

Gohan wasn't tired at all, even though it was getting rather late. Still, he hugged both of his parents goodnight, exclaiming how tired he was before taking a hot shower and trotted off to his old bedroom.

He sighed heavily as he lay beneath the sheets in the darkness, his feet almost dangling off the edge of the bed as he quickly discovered that he was far too tall for it. It was almost eerie, attempting to sleep in the room that he hadn't slept in in over eight years. Lying there, it seemed so much smaller now. Though it didn't help the fact that he could barely see in front of his face, the light from the stars eclipsed by a stretch of dark clouds.

A slow, patter of raindrops reached his ears as they hit the windowpane, bristling through the leaves out in the dense forest. The boughs of the trees creaking and swaying in the strengthening gust of wind. Then suddenly, a flash of silver rippled across the sky, lighting up the room in an instant, the silhouette of his ceremonial garb on the back of his chair mocking him almost, as the low roll of building thunder rumbled ominously in the distance several seconds later.

 _The Western Supreme Kai fell in_ ** _love_** _with a mortal, and she was going to abandon her duty… which could have plunged everything into imbalance!_

The teenager groaned in distain, rolling over and burying his face into his pillow. He just wanted to sleep, but Makhai's words were still echoing in his ears.

Another crackle of lighting lit up the room, _I have to tell you that if you pursue her then it's going to be trouble. And I mean big trouble._

Gohan tossed and turned, the old springs squeaking and dipping out of place. Scrunching up his eyelids tightly, a deafening bang of thunder reached his ears, the rain intensifying as though it came from buckets, cascading like a waterfall from the heavens, pounding against the rooftop as though it demanded entrance.

His best friend was right after all. It would not to well for him to get involved any further with Videl than he already was. But now he was stepping on dangerous territory, and he didn't even know just _when_ on earth it had happened. It was as though his heart had been broken open by a sledgehammer, and all these feelings that he didn't know he needed or wanted had just poured into it all at once, knocking him completely unawares.

 _You're in love with her!_

The young Destroyer growled, rolling onto his back and slapping his palm repeatedly into his head out of frustration.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

" _And now he's hitting himself,_ " Z drawled in exasperation from where he was perched at the end of his bed, _"Have you finally gone loopy?_ "

"I'm getting there," Gohan sighed in despair, his arm hopelessly dropping to his side.

 _"Hey, you said it. Not me."_

"Oh just stop it, will you?" he mumbled back weakly, unable to muster the energy to scold him properly. His brain running haywire.

" _Maybe I will,_ " the relic called, _"That is, when you manage to get that pretty girl out of your head."_

"Ugh," the teenager mustered, slapping himself again and causing the Z-Sword to chuckle.

 _"Ah, so I'm right."_

"Please don't," he groaned, pulling a pillow over his face, "It's already way too complicated."

 _"You could say that again,"_ he scoffed, _"Though if you had refrained from locking lips with her at every chance you got then maybe you wouldn't be in this mess."_

Gohan shot up so fast that he nearly flung himself out of bed, the pillow hitting the opposite wall as he spluttered and gaped in the swords direction. "Hang on, weren't _you_ the one encouraging me to do such things?!"

 _"Well yes,"_ Z chortled, _"But I never thought that you'd actually_ ** _act_** _on it. If I'm honest, I didn't think you had it in you."_

He scowled, as the relic continued to snicker.

This was ridiculous, he thought in annoyance, fisting the sheets beside him. When did he even get like this? So unfocussed and selfish. He _should_ be trying to think up a way to defeat Perses, or better yet design some sort of strategy to expose Zamasu. Yet instead he was lying in his childhood bedroom pining over a girl like a lovesick puppy!

 _But she isn't just any girl,_ Gohan thought, his heart catching in his throat as another flash of lightening illuminated the room. The words he had told Makhai only hours ago echoing around his mind, _she's the light behind the whole galaxy._

 _And she doesn't even know what I am._

He swallowed. He had to break it off with her before he managed to tangle both Videl _and_ himself further into this mess.

And it couldn't wait.

He stood suddenly, throwing off his bedsheets and blindly searching for his desk lamp. Light suddenly engulfed the bedroom, the rolling clouds still clashing together in the storm outside.

 _"And just where do you think you're going?"_ Z asked sceptically.

"Out," the halfling replied simply, pulling on a pair of jeans, the belt jingling lightly as he fastened them.

" _'Out'_ _he says, such a typical teenage answer,_ " the sword tutted, and Gohan could just imagine him rolling his eyes if he had any, " _Out where? Ooh! Are we going to beat up Zamasu?_ ** _Please_** _tell me we're going to beat up Zamasu?"_

" _We_ ," Gohan paused, jamming a plain black t-shirt roughly over his head, "Aren't going anywhere. And certainly not to the tenth universe just yet."

He scoffed, _"And why not sonny boy?"_

"Because I said so," he shot back, pulling on his boots and tying them, "I'll be back soon."

" _Pfft, honestly, no respect,"_ the Z-Sword grumbled, " _Well, if you're going out then do me a favour and stick me in the bathroom."_

"The bathroom?" Gohan frowned as he zipped up his hoodie, confused, "Why in there?"

He cackled, " _So that I can spy on that good looking mother of yours when she takes a shower in the morning! Ho ho! She's dynamite that one, your father is one lucky son of a Kai - OOF!"_

Z yelped, as the teen angrily kicked him to the floor, shoving him forcefully under the bed with his boot.

"Pervert," he snarled, ignoring the old relic's irate shrieks and sweeping his senses across the house, finding with satisfaction that his parents' and brother's Ki hummed along contently, still asleep.

With a final glare in Z's direction, the young saiyan closed his eyes in concentration, disappearing from his bedroom and teleporting across the East, reappearing high above Videl's apartment building in the pouring rain.

He quickly conjured a shield around him to protect him from the storm, silently thanking his lucky stars that his more humble form teleportation wasn't as uncomfortable as the Kai's technique. He looked down, finding that the streets were bare and still in the dead of night, the only sound that of the thunderstorm that waged around him in the sky.

It seemed even more intense over in Orange Star City, almost as though it had followed him there. The drains were overfilling with rainwater as it continued to pour from the thick dark clouds. He could see how rapidly it was meeting the earth, the large droplets swirling in the spectrum of the glowing streetlights, dancing almost, pushed further by the brisk wind. Lighting violently streaked overhead, hitting the spire of one of the tallest skyscrapers, igniting the air in an electrifying wave. The drumming of thunder was getting even louder, as Gohan noticed that light shone from a few of the windows from the building below him - including Videl's living room.

He sighed, talking himself down from teleporting back to the sanctity of his old bedroom. Though he knew that if he returned there without confronting her, then there wasn't a chance in Otherworld that he would be able to sleep.

Floating towards her window, he wrapped his knuckles against the pane, patiently waiting a few seconds for her to answer. He forced a smile, as her frowning face greeted him, her confused expression quickly warping into shock as she rushed to open it.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She yelled over the storm, backing away slightly so she didn't get soaked from the cascade of falling rain. Her hair was in pigtails, blowing back from the sudden force of wind.

"Are you going to let me in or not?" he jested, unable to stop the laugh from escaping him at her reaction, "I'll get wet if I turn my shield off for too long."

Stepping back with a playful roll of her eyes, he dissipated the forcefield before swiftly jumping inside, dodging the storm as she hurriedly shut the window behind him. He chuckled, bending down as Bee bounded up to him without hesitation, barking happily, his tail wagging furiously and allowing the teen to ruffle his ears affectionately.

"Do you always have to make such dramatic entrances?" Videl quirked, causing him to smirk back up at her.

"Something like that," he replied, as Bee scampered off in search of his bed.

She grinned back, folding her arms across her chest, that was covered by another one of those long ' _Satan Gym'_ t-shirts that barely reached her thighs. It hung off of one shoulder, exposing her delicate collarbone in a way that made him want to pull him towards her and kiss the skin there all over again.

"So, did you come here just to gawk at me?"

He was broken out of his thoughts, by the girls knowing smirk.

"N-no! I mean, yes -!" He stammered, damning his stupid mouth straight to HFIL, "I mean, w-we need to talk."

"Talk?" asked Videl, raising an eyebrow in amusement, taking a step towards him, "And here was me thinking that talking was the _last_ thing on your mind."

Ah, the future Detective Satan, she knew him all too well.

Though as he opened his mouth to reply, did he find it occupied by her lips against his. His eyes widened, his hands moving of their own accord and grasping her hips eagerly, pulling her towards him before he could stop himself.

The wind waned outside, battering against the building, the heavy roll of thunder echoing around them. Though the sudden quaking sound was lost on him, as Videl's wicked tongue danced around his, her hands clutching at the fabric of his hoodie, fingertips brushing over his pectorals. He nearly yelped, pulling back from her lips for a split second as she forcibly pushed him back without warning, causing him to topple onto the sofa behind him.

He barely managed to sit up straight, before Videl wasted no time in straddling his hips, her knees either side of him and her fingers now entangled in his long masses of hair, kissing him so passionately that he thought he might just die for the second time. Her shirt was riding slowly up towards her waist, exposing her warm bare skin, prompting the all too enthusiastic halfling to run his hands up her thighs and slip his hands under the soft cotton fabric.

He let out a shuddering breath, as she moaned softly in appreciation, deepening the kiss even more so. Gohan could feel the heat building between them, radiating from her very being, causing his mind to cloud with the most intense of feelings. Goosebumps erupted over his entire body, as her hips rolled on top of his, a low guttural groan of pleasure escaping him before he had a chance to wrap his head around what she was doing to him.

Videl pulled back from his lips with a wicked smile, fingers away from his hair, kissing his neck and collarbone. His head lolled back onto the edge of the sofa cushion, uncaring of how far they were going as he relished in her avid movements delving lower, _lower_ , his belt unraveling, the buttons on his jeans popping open -

He grabbed her hands suddenly, abruptly snapping to his senses. His eyes wide in panic, his chest moving rapidly up and down as he panted, stopping her ministrations in their tracks. She looked up at him with curious sapphire eyes, though he could detect the hint of disappointment within their beauty.

"Gohan?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, her raven hair pooling over his lap, "What's wrong?"

"I-I-," he stuttered, a little breathlessly as he released her, hurriedly doing up his jeans before he completely lost control of himself and gave in.

 _For Zalama's sake Gohan_ , he scolded himself, _You did_ ** _not_** _come here for that!_

"W-we can't," he said finally, inwardly cringing as he watched the hurt flicker in her eyes.

In true Videl style, she recovered swiftly, straightening herself as well as her t-shirt before she sat back next to him on the sofa. "I'm a little confused, I thought you wanted - "

"I never said I didn't," he said truthfully, her gaze softening a little at his words. A flash of lightening escaped the window, another crackle of thunder following soon after, casting their shadows on the walls.

"Then what - ?"

"I can't do this to you Videl," said Gohan, running a hand through his ebony hair, "I can't get you involved in this mess. It's too dangerous - "

"If you're worried about some evil deity coming after me or something, then you can stop that right now," she cut across him, giving him a fierce stare, "I'm a big girl, I can handle a lot more than what people think I'm capable of."

He couldn't help but allow a smile to tug at his lips at her response. It was true, and it was one of the things he admired most about her.

"It's not just that," he continued, guilt pooling in the very depths of his stomach, smoothing a calloused hand over her wrist before interlacing their fingers together, "It's not just the fact that I'm worried about the enemy harming you. The same goes for all of my friends and family, which is why I don't want any of you on Earth getting involved with Perses or Zamasu. It's not that I don't think that you can't handle yourselves, but I just don't even want to think about what would happened if they somehow threatened or hurt one of you to use against me. You know that I won't be staying, that I _can't_ stay. Even if… e-even if a part of me wants to."

He knew that she could see the struggle in his eyes, and squeezed his hand a little tighter as she spoke with a sad smile, "What happened to living in the moment?"

"I wanted to," He swallowed deeply, "I really did, and I _still_ do. But these… these moments, whatever _this_ is between us… I…" He paused again, sucking in a deep breath, "It's not going to be forever. I mean, I've only got three weeks left here on Earth and I - "

"Nothing lasts forever Gohan," said Videl, her eyes boring into his, before she sighed, the roar of clashing clouds drifting between them, "You're always so focused on what has been and what will be. You never allow yourself to just _be_ , and it always seems to be for the same stupid noble reasons."

Gohan regarded her for a moment, his gaze searching. Should he tell her?

"I have a duty to uphold," he started, but found that he couldn't find the right words to say, "And I can't afford to get distracted, there's too much at stake."

" _Distracted_?" She raised her eyebrows at him, prompting the young saiyan to wince at the sudden anger that pierced her tone, her grip on his loosening, "What the hell do you mean distracted?!"

"I-I didn't mean it like that," he faltered guiltily, "There are rules. Very strict rules imposed on all deities, including those in training, that state that they can't be romantically involved with mortals -"

Videl scoffed, catching him off guard as she drew back from him completely, "Doesn't seem that way from what Makhai was saying earlier, or did you just _forget_ about a certain alien warrior princess that you were caught snogging behind a tapestry?"

Gohan gaped, he was going to _destroy_ Makhai!

"That was different!" He protested, "It didn't mean anything -!"

"Wow, _really_ Gohan?" she snorted disbelievingly, causing him to cringe at his callous choice of words, "I thought you were supposed to be a gentlemen. Looks like I was wrong."

Shit!

She got to her feet suddenly, her demeanour growing cold towards him. Though the halfling was determined, standing up and grabbing her hands in his once more before she could storm off.

"I didn't mean it like that Videl," he said seriously, spinning her back around giving her no choice but to look into his pleading eyes, "What I mean to say is that I didn't feel that way her, not with anyone, not in the same way that I feel about you."

Her gaze softened slightly, before she shook her head, springing back to her senses with a low growl, and turning away from him once more, "Save it. Go and serve the universe or something. I wouldn't want to be another one of your _distractions_."

"Damn it Videl!" the young Destroyer tried again, seething at himself more than anything, he didn't mean to upset her, "Will you _stop_ being so stubborn and just listen to me?!"

The girl whirled around, a little taken aback by his sudden commanding tone, though her eyes were still defiant.

Another clap of thunder escaped the storm, and Bee whimpered at the sudden onslaught of sound from his basket in the kitchen.

"Maybe I'm not making it clear," he sighed heavily, his voice lowering, "It's not against The Divine Code to fool around with mortals or whatever, but it _is_ a huge violation to fall for one. And I don't want either of us to suffer the consequences for that."

Her eyes widened, slightly stunned as the reality of his words began to sink in. "W-what?"

Gohan gulped, taking a tentative step towards her, "I-I'm sorry Videl, but I just can't do this any more. I can't risk hurting you, or risk whatever would happen if my superiors found out. Not when the fabrication of the universe is in danger, not when I'm falling -"

He cut himself short, a sudden ache burning behind his throat and eyes, as the beautiful young woman in font of him let out a shaky breath, calming down considerably, her delicate hand cupping his cheek.

"I suppose I can understand," she mustered, her voice all but a whisper, it could barely be heard over the torrential rain that lashed against the windowpane, "Because… because I feel the same way about you too."

His mouth fell open in shock, and she let out a dark chuckle at the aghast look on his face.

"I know, it's crazy right?" said Videl, her eyes a little watery now as she breathed herself steady in an attempt to curb her emotions, "I've only really known you a week, but at the same time I feel like I've known you for most of my life, and not just because of what I've heard from spending time with your family."

Gohan swallowed, leaning into her hand and smoothing his fingers up and down her forearm.

"I know that you don't want to hurt me Gohan, and I get that," she continued wisely, stepping closer into his arms so that he could rest his chin on her head if he wanted, "But I know that it's hurting you even more to try and bring yourself to stay away."

"But I'll have to go eventually, soon even," he replied, closing his eyes and unable to stop himself from wrapping his arms around her, breathing deeply, the glorious smell of her hair wafting into his nostrils.

"Yeah _soon_ ," the Satan girl sighed, her tone sounded half playful, half pleading, "And with Perses and Zamasu lurking around the multiverse who knows when you'll have to up and leave again, or if you'll even come back."

"I know," the young saiyan whispered, his lips brushing the top of her head as he relished in the feeling of her arms around his middle, "And in three weeks, I'll be gone for good."

Her breath hitched, reality sinking in again. Even though they both knew that it would come, it was difficult to say and hear out loud.

"I don't want to get you into trouble," said Videl, looking up at him once more, her fingertips framing his shoulder blades. Her tearful eyes, though full of sadness and disappointment, still held a hint of amusement that he loved so much, "I just wish you weren't so bloody noble."

He gazed at her longingly, attempting to give her a charming smile, but failed, his heartache overwhelming him. He could feel the guilt and regret tearing at his heartstrings, threatening to rip open his entire chest cavity.

Why couldn't he tell her?

"I should go," the young Destroyer swallowed, his brimming tears blurring his vision. Though it was a good thing, as if he could see any clearer he might not be able to bring himself to leave.

He kissed her hair softly, hugging her to him one last time, trying desperately to ignore the wetness that spilled onto the girl's cheeks.

"I'm sorry," he said, before letting go.

Gohan span on his heel, walking away from her without turning back. He didn't want to see her cry, he couldn't bring himself to see the broken look that he had left on her beautiful features - all because of his own selfish actions.

He grasped the doorknob, ignoring Bee who whined in protest at his departure, just as another blaze of sliver illuminated the apartment. He could have just gone out the window again, but that would mean walking past Videl, and he knew he wouldn't be able do it. To walk past and ignore the stifled sob that would reach his ears as he opened the window.

He could have just teleported, he thought, as he shut the front door behind him with a snap that sounded harsh to his ears, but he needed a moment to compose himself. He needed to get his head in order before he could perform such a manoeuvre, a lapse in concentration might accidentally send him halfway across the universe. Or even worse, right back to Videl.

Gohan leaned his back heavily against the door, running his hands all over his face in an attempt to curb the tears that continued to build, threatening to spill over.

 _You're in love with her!_

He groaned, smacking the back of his head angrily off the door. Gods he _hated_ this. He clenched his fists despairingly, scrunching up his eyes tightly as Makhai's words of truth refused to leave his mind. He was so _stupid_. As despite his attempts to not hurt Videl, he had already done so. The thought of her tearful sapphire eyes made him feel even worse. It was like they were goading him, haunting him, making him suffer for all the idiotic things he had done thus far.

The raging thunderstorm outside seemed to reflect the cyclone of regret and anguish inside of him. His stomach knotted almost painfully, as he continued to struggle with himself dismally. And worst of all, as much as his brain screamed at him to do so, he couldn't find the will to make his legs move.

He could still feel Videl's bright, yet troubled Ki hovering inside. He gulped, it felt as though it had moved closer to the door.

"Gohan?"

His chest tightened, his breath catching in his throat like cotton at the sound of her voice drifting through the solid oak. It sounded tight and strained, as though it was taking all of her might to stop herself from speaking.

"Gohan, are you still there?" she asked again, which they both knew was a stupid question. She could sense him after all.

"Y-yeah," he managed to muster after a while, he couldn't seem to catch hold of his breath, "Sorry, I just. I-I just need a minute."

 _Move Gohan_ , he thought to himself desperately, _Walk away._

The teenager didn't know what was wrong with him, he was a _Junior Destroyer_ for crying out loud. He had taken on tyrants, monsters, and armies, wiped whole planets out of existence. Even when he was alive on Earth, he had faced gruesome battles that no child should see, let alone take an active part in. He had seen his friends and family be brutally murdered in front of his eyes. He had seen tyranny in all its dreadful form, fought alien monsters of legend and killed because it was his very purpose.

He had known fear, embodied it even. He seen it reflected in mortals eyes on numerous occasions, felt it himself when he had stepped into the ring against Cell all those years ago, and when he had taken up the role of a Destroyer. He had felt it when he had faced his friends and family after such a long time of absence, when they didn't know who he was…

And yet, as he stood in the empty corridor of Videl's apartment building, willing himself to leave, the dim lighting flickering as another wave of electrifying lightening rippled over the city, followed by the unrelenting boom of thunder, he realised that he had never felt so scared in his entire life.

"I…" she started again, causing him to close his eyes in a silent struggle, battling with himself.

He let out a shuddering breath, as Videl's voice called out to him again, "I don't want you to go."

 _Fuck it._

He crumbled. Suddenly, utterly, completely. Letting go of his fears as he grasped the cool steel handle and flung open the door so fast that it nearly flew off its hinges. It banged harshly against the adjacent wall, causing Bee to jump from his basket and growl. But Gohan ignored him, as well as the fact that he had left the door wide open as he practically charged at the bewildered girl in the centre of the room.

He reached Videl in one fowl swoop, not waiting for her to speak before he kissed her.

He kissed her hard, desperately. Holding her face in both of his hands and kissed her as though the Earth would shatter around them if he didn't. It was unrestrained and powerful, as the girl responded to his lips without hesitation, her tongue expertly delving into his insistent mouth and her fingers raking through his hair.

His hands moved swiftly from her jaw, traveling all over her delicate curves and grabbing at her waist, pulling her to him and lifting her off her feet. Gohan clutched her shirt tightly, the long cotton fabric ruffled against his fingertips as her legs suddenly encircled his waist. The searing heat between them building more rapidly than ever before, drying away the tears that had fallen so instantly it was as though they had never been there to begin with.

He kissed her long and passionately, daring to dip under her bra and caress the soft skin underneath. She pulled back for a brief moment, as a moan erupted from her throat, her long raven pigtails brushing against his collarbone. He wasn't entirely sure just when they had got there, but the next thing he knew he had slammed her back against the front door, thankful of her above-average human strength, as it shut so hard that it was nearly as loud as the reverberating echo of thunder outside. Videl was still latched tightly around him, gasping and clawing at his hoodie as his lips moved devilishly against her neck.

The heat was getting unbearable as their bodies moulded together, intensifying so much so that he soon felt his clothes awfully restrictive and unnecessary. He kissed her lips again, before drawing back to allow her to swiftly yank his t-shirt and hoodie over his head. They dropped to the floor in no time, the halfling shuddering out a deep groan as a fresh wave of goosebumps erupted over his skin, the touch from her fingertips electrifying.

He didn't know that anyone or anything could make him feel such a way, or how it was even possible. All he did know was that nothing seemed to satisfy him anymore. He needed more than kisses, more than softly teasing the warm skin underneath her clothes, more of _her_. Without speaking, it was more than obvious what he wanted, if what was happening below his waistband was anything to go by. There was no way that he could hide or deny it as their hips connected and he pushed further in between her thighs, the glorious toned muscle of her legs tightening against him even more so as another rasping moan tumbled from her lips.

He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her so _fucking_ badly. He wanted to tell her completely, wholly just how she made him feel, how much his heart and soul yearned for her. How much it hurt, how amazing she felt, admit to her what he truly was. That these hands that were touching her, brushing over her bare skin as they tore urgently at her clothes, had threatened, killed and destroyed. It was barely believable in fact, that the hands that were enticing such pleasure from her had caused whole worlds of devastation and pain, erasing entire civilisations from existence when he had no other choice.

But right now his brain had given in to his heart, and all he could do was follow it blindly. He could no longer catch himself to stop him from falling. Because right then, with her body writhing against his in ecstasy as he held her against the doorway, she was everything. The light behind his galaxy. His whole reason for wanting to overcome the darkness that threatened to eclipse him.

"G-Gohan," she managed to muster through the thick haze of passion, causing his smokey onyx eyes to lock with hers, "We shouldn't - "

She stopped herself short, biting her bottom lip as the halfling let out a staggering breath, his forehead resting on hers, unable to stop the playful smirk that crept across his lips.

"Probably not," he shrugged, before kissing her again, and again, and _again_. Prompting the girl to laugh in between his short kisses, before they became deeper, wilder and more feverish once more.

Her shirt was soon lost at the same time as his belt hit the cool floorboards, the soft sound barely noticeable over the rain that continued to thump relentlessly against the windowpane. He felt as though his skin was on fire as they continued to explore one another, the sensation of her actions were extraordinary, her fingertips burning through him and palpating his very soul.

He didn't know what he was doing, he felt as though he was flying by the seat of his pants. Though every time he would get a little flustered, Videl would pull his hands back to where she wanted them and kissed him. And very slowly it became instinctual.

He couldn't get enough. Her skin, her curves, her hands, the way she gasped and responded to the way he touched her. Her heavy desperate pants as he literally ripped her underwear clean off. Though she didn't seem to care about the ruined garments, as he quickly found his own pooling at his feet. The young saiyan discarded them hurriedly, letting the girl gently down from his grasp as he kicked off his boxers, leaving them in the middle of the living room in the same manner as the rest of their clothes.

Taking a moment to compose himself - as well as ogle her nakedness in all its stunning beauty - he scooped her up into his arms, lips locking, her legs wrapping around his waist once more as he marched them to her bedroom, still kissing. Their tongues clashed together as he kicked the door closed behind him with his heel, for want of Bee not barging in unannounced.

Her voluptuous chest heaved with anticipation, pushing up against the hard scarred muscle of his torso as his shins reached the edge of the bed and they both tumbled onto the mattress with him on top of her. Gohan's hips arched forwards on impulse, his body spread over hers, drawing another spine-tingling moan from her throat. It felt as though his useless heart was straining against his ribcage, trying desperately to beat as he softly teased her lips, her neck, her breasts, daring to delve lower before he was dragged back to her mouth by a rough tug of his hair.

He stopped for a moment, as she pulled away for an sharp inhale of much needed oxygen. He staggered, as those penetrative sapphire eyes shone vibrantly back at him, brilliantly against the backdrop of the dark bedroom. A quaking shock of thunder rocked right over their heads, as Gohan lost his cool, barely managing to regain his breath. A sudden nervousness gripping at his resolve.

"V-Videl, I've never -," he staggered, cutting himself short, unable to say the words, though he couldn't help but notice the mild surprise that crossed her features.

Then, she smiled back at him. A loving, reassuring smile that seemed to break through the fog.

"It's okay," she whispered, before grasping his jaw and pulling him to her softly, sweetly this time. His insecurities falling to the back of his mind as a new wave of courage surfaced.

If this was the only time, the only chance he would get, then he wanted to burn the memory into his mind, sear it onto his brain. He wanted to remember every part of her, every curve, crease and dimple. He wanted to remember the way she touched him, teased him, caressed him and guided him. The way she moaned his name before crying it out to the ceiling, her cardinal howl intermingling with the roaring winds outside. The way she held him in her embrace, her heel pressing further into his back - keeping him there. Her husky, urgent tones spurring him forwards, faster, _harder_ , making soft, mesmerising noises of encouragement and appreciation.

His head was spinning from the captivating whirlwind of sensations that sent shockwaves of pleasure rushing all over his body, the feeling so intense that it shot through his veins like the hot lightening that flashed beyond the curtains of the bedroom. It was like a blur. A blur of naked skin, sweat and cries of longing. They were a tangle of limbs and tongues, fuelled by the desperation of destiny breathing down their necks. But in that moment, they inhaled everything the other exhaled, living _breathing_ off one another before they were forced to gasp the thick, humid air of reality.

They paid no heed to the furious thunderstorm outside, the rain thrashing against the windowpane finally petering out into a soft patter as they later collapsed around each other, basking in the afterglow. He nuzzled his nose into her dishevelled hair, slowly spiralling back down to Earth, breathing deeply as she let out a heaving, satisfied sigh with him still on top of her.

"So," Videl asked him breathlessly, her half-lidded gaze cast towards the ceiling as the rain subsided, "Are we in trouble?"

"That depends," Gohan panted, attempting to still his own breath as he mumbled his answer into the bare skin on her shoulder, causing her to shudder at the teasing softness of his lips when they moved.

"On what?" she quirked with mild amusement, as the young saiyan lifted his head towards her, propping himself up on his elbows, flashing her a goofy grin.

"On if we get caught."

They giggled stupidly, blissfully, their cheeks flustered and glowing underneath the white cotton sheets as the laughter and happiness filtered between the teenagers, radiating from them. They lay like that for a while, entangled and enraptured with one another, the clouds letting out one last defiant rumble in the distance.

* * *

 **Lord Beerus' Planet, A Far Away Dimension, The Living World**

The universe was like a symphony. Rhythmic, beating like a drum, humming with life. Occasionally there would be a disturbance that would skip a beat, cut the strings, slow the tempo, change the tune momentarily. It wouldn't be noticeable to most, as in the majority of cases, the mistake could be corrected, the percussion would soon join in, the beat would return and the universe would continue to sing. Though there were moments when the pace could not be righted, when the change in tempo was obvious - deafening almost. Still undetected by most, but all too apparent for the likes of an Angel.

One Angel in particular, in fact.

Whis looked out into the upper atmosphere, his gaze fixed, staring at the deepening purple sky of the Destroyer's world. A breeze grabbed at the garb that hung to his feet, which was odd, as the planet was not usually accustomed to wind unless there was a particular Junior Destroyer upon it. Whether he was sparring or not, that boy was a whirlwind in himself.

Even still, he could not deny that there was a storm coming. He could feel it in the night air. Which was why he had taken to standing guard outside rather than at his usual place in the temple, watching over a still sleeping Lord Beerus.

He could feel it. And he was waiting.

The wind suddenly picked up around him, brushing through the blades of emerald grass and whipping over the meadow he was standing in. It quickly gained momentum, as an icy chill, keen and unfurling, burst through the trees, freezing the leaves as soon as it touched. The long blades of grass soon stopped wavering, frozen solid as a creeping shroud of darkness eclipsed the plane.

The Angel watched with a stoic expression, as a sharp bolt of black lightening cut through the atmosphere, hitting the ground in front of his feet and splitting open the space around him, creating a rip in the very air in front of him. The darkness grew, tearing apart just enough to allow the figure of a young man to step out onto the planet's surface.

Whis' eyes hardened, though he did not seem at all surprised by the appearance of his visitor, whose boots crunched on the frost covered ground.

The brown boots, old and tattered, resembled the rest of his attire, even though there was not much of it left to speak of. His pale grey skin was mainly bare, save for the ragged brown cloth that hung low over his hips, brushing against his strong, hulking thighs as he walked. He was tall, around the same height as the Angel, scars littering his well-built muscles, his strong bare torso covered with strange ancient markings in a darker grey pattern. Scuffed, golden wristbands, that were fixed against his forearms, remained the only evidence of his former status, reflected the purplish hue of the sky above them.

His once, handsome face was further marred by the nasty burn that covered his left eye, the area around the socket so mutated that the grey skin was now a fleshy pink. His straight black hair was slicked back against his skull, tucked behind sharp, pointed ears and reached just below his waist. He stopped short, unable to move forwards any further, as the tension on the chains around his wrists and ankles became taught and locked. They chinked together eerily, the knotted, rusted bonds of Kachi Katchin dragging through hardened earth.

The visitor breathed deeply, nostrils flaring in the freezing air as his eyes - grey and cloudy like a storm - opened, and he greeted his old Master with a slow, uncurling smirk.

"Perses," Whis observed, regarding the young man before him with a calculated stare, "It's been a long time."

"Too long," he spoke chillingly, the dark rift swirling behind him as his fists clenched and unclenched in anticipation, revealing long yellowing fingernails, "Though in some ways, not long enough _Master_."

"I believe it was you who said that there is no being deserving of such a title," The blue-skinned deity said lowly, unaffected by his sarcasm.

"And I stand by it," Perses grinned evilly, "I'm surprised that your memory hasn't wavered, old man."

Whis chuckled lightly at that, "My memory continues to serve me well. I haven't forgotten just how extraordinary your powers are. I must say that technique of yours is quite remarkable. How are you standing here before me, when you are still bound to The Void?"

He snarled in response, "As if I'd tell you."

"Ah but I already have an idea," the Angel said with a wry smile, "You are draining power from Lord Beerus and using it for your own advantage, collaborating with an apprentice Kai of all things."

Perses looked on darkly, silent as the darkness continued to stiffen the air around them.

"And I have to wonder why," Whis continued, his warm breath creating soft white clouds before him, "Firstly, why you are doing this, why you must see the cosmos suffer for your mindless dreams? And secondly why you have decided to show yourself to me? Lord Beerus is sleeping in the temple, you will not reach him before you are pulled back to your prison. Even if you manage to break out of your chains."

"The cosmos is already suffering you old fool," The demigod snarled, gritting his teeth in anger, two fangs protruding from either side of his lips, "It is you Gods that are mindless, thinking that order and chaos are complete opposites, seeking to control them when they are but either side of the same coin. Grand Zeno is not worthy to rule over the cosmos, he is too flippant and child-like. He does not understand the ways of Creation and Destruction. But I do. My goal has not changed, I will seek to correct the mistakes of Gods and mortals alike, the fabrication of all you know will crack, and you will fail."

A dark look overcame the Angel, as he frowned deeply, "Be careful what you say about The Omni-King, my boy -"

"I am not your _boy_ ," Perses snapped viciously, the thick, winding veins in is muscular arms bulging in hatred, "I never was."

Whis stared, the harshness of the young man's voice echoing around the now cold planet.

"I came here to speak with the Oracle," the ex-Destroyer continued in a threatening tone, "Now where is she?"

He pursed his lips in response, "You are well aware of what The Oracle Fish predicted. You chose this path, and if you continue down it, it will not be any different."

"Not all as come to pass just yet Whis," Perses growled, a knowing glint in his stormy grey eyes, "And it will change. I am not the same man as I was before."

"I see no difference," he responded stiffly, "You are still as naive as you once were."

Though the Angel was mildly surprised, as the demigod let out a burst of laughter, cackling madly before he spoke, "Oh but it is you that is naive! Have you not noticed by now what has been right under your nose?!"

Whis frowned, before his inquisitive eyes travelled to the empty space above his skull, and shook his head in disappointment, "I see your halo is gone. You may have always been reckless Perses, but I didn't think that you would do something so rash as to ask the Dragon God for immortally. It looks as though Lord Beerus was correct in his assumptions."

Though his words only seemed to make Perses laugh harder, "Immortality?! Is that what you think?! You're even more gullible than I thought!"

Then, something clicked, causing Whis' eyes to widen in both shock - and horror. A look that hadn't graced his delicate features since he had found out what had truly become of his ex-student.

Two words escaped his lips, "You didn't."

"Oh but I _did_!" the corrupted being practically sang, though it was eerie, twisted, and Whis could see the ghost of a once boisterous young man spring up from the depths of his soul, before it was once again chased away by madness, "I have been gifted the life of a true God! Oh the _years_ I've waited to see that terrified look on your face!"

Whis closed his eyes despairingly, his manic shrieks of mirth echoing in his ears before he let out a heaving sigh, "You poor, poor boy. You cannot win."

Perses' laughter faltered slightly, scoffing at the deity's statement, "Oh really? And which one of you unworthy imbeciles are going to stop me from exacting my true destiny? Oh don't tell me, that little brat of yours?"

"He's strong," The Angel said boldly, causing him to snort.

"He is but an arrogant child," he sneered, "If he continues to meddle in my affairs then I'll just destroy him like the rest. Then again, I suppose I could use this power you speak of to my advantage. One so prideful with power so furious can be easily manipulated, after all, you control him like a puppet. I know he's been following your orders."

Whis all but smiled whimsically at that, "If you ever had the pleasure to teach him, you would know that Son Gohan isn't a great follower of orders."

Perses glared, a low growl escaping his chest before his entire body jolted, and the high arctic winds picked up again, the entire plane darkening even more so as dozens of black, decaying hands shot out of The Void behind him. The skeletal claws wrapped around his wrists, arms, ankles and legs, whilst others clutched and pulled at his chains, hauling him backwards as the rift suddenly started to close.

"Argh!" he snarled angrily, struggling to break free, one of the skeleton's arms snapping off forcibly from his bicep, though it disintegrated as soon as it touched the sacred ground of Lord Beerus' world, "Not yet! I WILL to speak with the Oracle!"

Whis looked on rather sadly, as Perses dug his heels in the icy grass, straining against the mass of bones that continued to snatch and drag him back into his prison.

"Oracle or not, you know that if you continue down this path then you will meet your end," the Angel called, "You may wield a power you never had before, but you must know that it will not change. Not even if you succeed in wiping The Supreme Kai and Lord Beerus from existence. Not even with Zamasu's help."

"Revenge - isn't - everything!" He struggled, snapping and snarling, gritting his teeth in fury as bony fingers clasped over his throat, "The Gods will fall! I _will_ right the cosmos! I am already one step - argh - closer! I will master - the - Gods - weapon!"

A gasping roar erupted from his lungs, flailing manically, blindingly, as more and more deadly claws were forced to come forth in order to stop him from fighting back. They grappled, covering his torso, hair and the scarred flesh around his face, rotting talons sinking painfully into his skin, the gap closing up even further.

Though Perses did not scream, his tempestuous eyes were crazed, and smirk ever goading, "The ancient relic! It is - my - _birthright_!"

Whis watched, his expression eerily calm, as the former Junior Destroyer's voice echoed out into the night. Though as a final clutch of decaying fingers bound his mouth, muffling the sound of his struggle, the biting cold leaving with him, did the Angel utter the words that caused Perses' eyes to widen with an unyielding rage just before he was engulfed by the darkness he came from.

"The Z-Sword has already chosen it's master."

* * *

 _31st March, 2019._

* * *

 _A/N: OH. MA. GOD. Okay so if you aren't much of a Gohan and Videl fan then this chapter may not have been the best for you... HOWEVER I would hope by now that if youve got this far then you already are or I have twisted your arm haha. I wanted to do that love scene absolute justice, and if I'm completely honest I am not the type of writer that can write full explicit lemons, as a lot of the time when I have read them they can be a bit cringey and I lose sight of the story or interest. So I decided to do it from the point of view of Gohan's internal struggle, fuelled completely by his emotions._

 _I have a hunch what some people might say.. but before I get comments such as 'omg why is Gohan so weak he's a destroyer and this girl has him wrapped around his finger'. Well, that is the point my dear readers! Up until know I have shown Gohan to be this absolutely badass (yet sometimes dorky) character who can blow apart whole worlds and is feared by the majority of the universe. So in contrast, we have Videl, who shows his vulnerabilities and draws them out, proving that he isnt just this huge overpowered character, and giving him an internal struggle that could have drastic consequences. Yes, he has completely gone against his mentor and the divine code, but lets face it, even in the original he was a bit of a rebel - defying his mother on more than one occasion yet still having respect for her. Gohan is a complex character, which is why he is so much fun to write. I wanted to get their relationship across as fast and intense, so that the recklessness of what they were doing sprang up out of nowhere - if Gohan had more time to think and ponder his choices, he may not have gotten his rocks off as Makhai so eloquently put it. And that just wouldn't please you Gohan and Videl shippers now would it? I'm looking at you Erin ;)_

 _I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and really tried to go to town on the description, I hope I've done it justice, especially in terms of the GXV action! When I read it to my husband, he said it may be a little dramatic in parts, and maybe that is true. But Gohan is a huge drama queen,(Mass Extinction anybody) especially in this story, lets face it ;) Either way I hope that I got Perses across right for you guys as well, what did you think of him? Of Goten's POV and thoughts of his brother? And also of the... eek... Mass Extinction?_

 _Oh and the free bus pass line from Gohan? I know in the UK that when you reach a certain age you are entitled to a free bus pass. So just incase no one caught onto that or its different anywhere else in the world. Then basically the cheeky git was just calling them old. Its also a further jibe because not of them actually need to use a bus ;)_

* * *

 **Reviews:**

Aaron Leach: thank you :)

hawkeyestratos1996: At the mo Im sort of going down the Super route rather than GT, so I don't think ss4 will fit.

ericsofly2: thank you!

ashlovesdbz: thank you so much for your review and kind words! I hope you liked the interactions between Gohan and the supreme guard in this chapter just as much! And I think we would ALL like to know what happened with Gohan and the wine :P

BladeKnightmare: ah I do want to keep Perses and the main villian next to Zamasu, I dont think the demigra towa thing would fit, and its already been used in Xenoverse. Just trying to keep things a bit more original!

romanovascap: thank you so much! yes I think everyone managed to figure out about Zamasu in the end haha. Hmm as you can see Gohan is struggling a lot with his secrets... but will he reveal them? Ah the suspense!

MadmanJrs: I am SO happy you picked up on Lord Moscos 'oh snap' line. I actually laughed at myself when I wrote it lol so happy that people found it as funny as I did otherwise Id just feel like a saddo! haha. glad you liked the world building, and there is lots of potential for upcomming meetings between deites so you may look forward to that. And Im glad you remembered the small hint of GohanxAlala, and I developed that in this chapter too. Though sadly, nothing happened. I did like the thought of them together though I must say!

ark1997: Im trying to stick with the English dub, so ive used Vermoud instead of Belmond there.

hiareportsyou: you have pretty much answered your own question there! Gohan has not gone utilised divine Ki like vegeta did in the show yet, as I want more emphasis on the super saiyan god ritual. there is no evidence to say that they didnt do the ritual for vegeta and then he trained to get blue. I would like to think that you have to perform the ritual before you are able to go even further beyond.

romeroFan: thanks for your review! I really love that idea. I will bare some aspects in mind, however I do have a good idea of what Perses is up to already but cant reveal it just yet. It may have given you some idea at the end of this chapter though... ;) glad you enjoyed the Gods meeting. And I loved infinity war too as you can probs tell from some of the quotes I er... borrowed...

Chosen To Die: Yaaaaay! Your review made me so happy! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! More everybody! Im glad that my OCs are so well recieved too! Got to love Makhai!

Hek'UnnSkipper: thanks so much for your review! Absolutley, I didnt want to distract away from the seriousness of the chapter with a bit of kissy kissy to 'make it all better'. If anything, in this chapter its actually made it a whole lot worse. oh dear Gohan lol. I hope you are still sticking with it despite not being a huge Videl fan!

Robthekiwi121: yeah as well as when you bring Gohan along lol

Marbbles123: aw thank you! Glad youre enjoying the story. and I hope you enjoyed the rest of the fight between Gohan and the others! also thanks for your kind words, it really helped you guys are so lovely! And nope Gohan can certainly not keep that mouth shut! haha.

777torn777: even more so!

TheHiddenLettuce: yeah sorry as i said above i will be sticking with Super transformations rather than GT. I just feel like it fits better here! And in regards to the Namkeian dragonballs, Gohan suggested them before he came to Earth. However whis and beerus said that they were sacred orbs and would be taboo basically to use them. id like to think of earths dragonballs as cheap knock offs haha. it sounds a bit strange right now, but i promise that it will become clear later on why the namekian dragonballs are so sacred!

Darkmehameha: haha glad you didnt! good to see you!

KagariAsuha: thank you so much! I do have an idea for a hair chop later ;)

Iwik : haha yes I am a girl! I think that may have surprised a few people as ive had a lot of reveiws calling me 'dude' or 'man' lol. thanks for the praise and the kind words! really pleased you are enjoying the story, and Gohans trash talk!

dx-1118 : thanks so much, I hope I didnt disappoint! Great to see you loved the meeting between the Gods. I wish I could reveal more about the whole Perses and Zamasu dynamic! It is killing me haha.

Leafeon12: thank you so much! :)

GuestTDB: aw thank you for your kind words, you guys are ace! Brilliant that you are loving the story. I am so excited for it, and its great to hear that you drop everything just to read it! Wow! Such praise! Thank you I hope you liked this chapter and the suspense!

KeynoRules: Ah thank you! glad I found your review! Did you get any more fanart ideas?! haha

fated1990: thank you very much! I hope I lived up to that excitement again!

FireEmblemMaster101: thanks for your fab review, and that you loved the 'oh snap!' from Lord Mosco! ahhh I really cant reveal too much at all in my reply to you! lol I hope you enjoyed the taste of Gohan's power and the mass extinction technique. I really wanted to scare the crap out of everyone to show just how powerful and terrifying our junior destroyer can be! Ah I would love to do the recruits adventures, it really would be ace!

dspendragon125 : thank you! Glad you liked Gohan Vs Goku!

Magnanimous Architect: thanks so much, keep coming back!

NinjaFang1331: thank you!

Zero Rewind : ah thats fair enough, thanks for sticking with it as far as you did. I understand that its not for everyones tastes! The Namekian dragonballs have already been mentioned, and not used in fact because they are too sacred - more on that later! the whole piccolo not recognising Gohan think wasnt to force the plot a long, more to add to the sadness and drama :)

X3runner: haha thanks for your review! Yeah Gohan is a handsome deity, Videl certainly did get a little jealous of the warrior princess snog in this chapter!

Lawrence HBain: hmm Cell... interesting ;)

phyre1129 : thanks so much! glad youre enjoying it!

Snare646 : thank you!

Thomas-The-TMC : thanks so much! :)

GannicusG13: thank you :) it got a little darker and emotional in this chapter, so I hope you still enjoyed!

HKGlenstid: thank you :)

Erin : aww its okay! Id rather look and see that I didnt do it wrong! thanks so much for your kind words. And please if you get an account I would love to see your doodles! on another note my dear... DID YOU ENJOY THE DESSERT?! :O :O :O

Guest : ah I do have an ending! I cant reveal though. LOL I should put that in my description!

Nyyyyyyeeeeehhh : not until it is finished!

Naite-Laef : wow youre like the third or fourth person to say that! Its amazing! Thank you for your praise! It really does mean alot! Really hope you enjoyed this chapter! xD

noble1000 : haha you did catch hamilton. did you catch a line in this chapter too? Thanks for your support!

DaDragon562 : great reveiw thank you so much! Thats exactly the comparison, I hope ive put some across well in this chapter and that you enjoyed it :)

o- Nyx -o : No worries! and congratulations! Yeah trolls are no fun. constructive critism is fine, but I cant stand keyboard warriors lol especially those who leave unkind comments for no reason!. thanks for the praise, and lol this chapter is my longest my FAR. I just couldnt stop lol. Really hope you enjoyed it and glad to see you back. I mainly have the main scenes for whole the story mapped out and then write in quotes and dialogue around it, building it up before I edit it! It is still a working progress though :)

mubaarik4858: when I read your review I couldnt beleive you guess it! haha hope that the fight between them all panned out well for you and that you enjoyed it!

TeraBaapBSDK: thanks for the fave and follow! no im not greek, I just love greek mythology!

Green Medley: awww thank you so much for your review! Glad you like this story! Yeah I cant help but feel that Whis SHOULD notice that Gohan's potential is incredible, even if he doesnt want to fight in the original. Gohan IS a complete dunderhead, and a drama queen. sigh. Though I hoped you like Goten's take on the situation.


	21. The Supreme Kai's Apprentice

_A/N: Hello there lovely readers! Im back! Im aware it has been a loooooong month but I hope you will forgive me and understand that it has taken me AGES to write this chapter, not only with normal life going on but this chapter has a lot of pivotal plot points and moments that I really needed to get right as the set up for the rest of the story. Also this is my longest chapter at nearly 23,000 words! eek! Im not promising that all of my chapters will be THIS long but in my defence I couldn't find a good moment to end the chapter before the actual ending if that makes sense!_

 _I am super SUPER glad that you enjoyed the passionate love scene between Gohan and Videl, it was one thing that I was really anxious about posting because I didnt know how it would be received! So yay! Thanks for all the love! I think some of you may have forgotten about the origin of Perses - which is totally understandable seen as I wrote the early chapter so long ago now! There are certainly some parallels to Gohan. But just to recap for any one who doesnt want to reread the chapter 'hero' . Perses is the son of the Western Supreme Kai and an unknown warrior from an unknown planet, so yes it has already been revealed that he is half Kai and half mortal. He died in a great battle and Whis chose him to become Lord Beerus' successor, before he went rogue and then was imprisoned in the void over 1000 years ago. I hope that little recap helps!_

 _That being said I sincerely hope that you enjoy this chapter, and just wanted to thank you amazing fanfictioners for all the support you continue to give me. It truly amazes me how many followers I have for this story, and your lovely reviews really make my day! I have also (with my mediocre a-level in media studies) made a trailer for this story which is on youtube if you would like to watch it, I haven't made a video in like 9 years so please be kind, I hope you like it though haha, the link is: www . youtube watch?v = 5LzIC5MQGzo_

 _Thank you so much for your continued support! Please enjoy, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter! ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One**

 **The Supreme Kai's Apprentice**

 **xxxx**

 **Orange Star City, Planet Earth**

His mind was strangely quiet. Usually there would be static, chaos, but now - nothing. Long, golden fingers of light lifted him from his slumber, brushing a warmth over his cheeks even as the cool morning air drifted through the open window, the slight chill persisting even though the storm had passed. The first rays of the summer sun crept through the small gap in the curtains, advancing across the wooden floorboards, chasing away the shadows back to their corners and stretching over the crumpled cotton sheets of the bed.

Gohan shivered slightly as the draughty breeze tousled his hair, causing him to shift in place and snuggle further into the warm bare skin pressed against his own. He kept his eyes tightly shut as he wrapped his strong arms tighter around the girl's petite waist, his head buried into the space above her shoulder, as he desperately tried to ignore the sunlight that threatened to invade his pupils.

For the young saiyan did not want morning to come. He wished to stay in this moment with Videl, naked, entangled and enraptured. The sound of her beating heart in his ears, her generous breast slowly moving up and down with every gentle breath she took. The lingering scent of sweat and something more musky was almost palpable in the dim light of the room, though as Gohan nuzzled his nose further into the crook of her neck, he could detect the delicious hint of coconut from her hair. The thick, raven silk had shaken out of its bonds from last nights endeavours, fanning around her like a halo of dark fire, dishevelled and untameable like midnight flames.

And even though he knew, he _knew_ that what he had done last night was undeniably stupid and beyond reckless, he couldn't help but relish in it. As despite his still and silent mind, it was as though every part of him had been electrocuted. His veins were the current and he was thriving off it, buzzing even. Wishing nothing more than to block out the rest of the world and stay wrapped up with Videl in the soft glow of early morning. The inviting warmth of her glorious body replacing the cold feeling inside of him, using her kisses as fuel, drinking in every part of her.

He knew that he was weak. Videl had made him so. And he had officially fallen off the edge of reason and into the deep beyond. For now the young Destroyer-in-training was living in a world of what ifs. What if he hadn't accepted Whis' offer all those years ago? Would he and Videl have had those years he'd lost on Earth _together_? How many mornings would he have woken up next to her, naked and glowing after a night like they had just shared? How many bone-quaking times would she have rocked tremors of exhilaration through to his very soul? How many moments of happiness would they have had? Would they have gone on dates like normal teenagers? Had blazing rows that would quickly turn into hot and heavy moments of passion? Would they have kissed, and laughed and mapped out pictures in the stars? Sparred late into the summers eve and watched the sunrise chase away the darkness of the night over and over again?

Just how much had he missed?

He had never realised that he could even feel this way, or if such a feeling even existed. He had been blinded, blinded by his sense of duty, bound all too tightly to the God of Destruction and what he was meant to become. Not allowing any room for such powerful notions to even cross his focussed and battle ready mind.

Yet now, as he tightened his arms further around the curvature of Videl's waist, deeply breathing her in once more, he realised that he didn't want to let go. As if he did, he was afraid that the beautiful young woman beside him would quickly fade away, back into the deepest most private part of his dreams.

Finally giving way to the temptations of the morning sun, his eyelids fluttered open, sensing Videl already awake. Onyx met sapphire, and immediately the butterflies exploded in his stomach, the sudden whirlwind would have no doubt knocked him off his feet if he wasn't already lying down, though it was more than enough to take his breath away. He couldn't help but allow a wicked grin to play upon his lips, as he caught sight of the messy state of her hair, her flushed cheeks and the small purple bruises that he had left upon her neck from when he had struggled to hold back his own cries of desire that had fought to escape him only hours ago.

"Morning," he mustered cheekily, lifting his head from her shoulder so that he could get a better look at her, the cotton bedsheets sliding between them.

"Morning yourself," she replied, her eyes twinkling almost devilishly back at him. It was enough to drive him wild. "How did you sleep?"

"Good," said Gohan, nudging her nose with his as he failed to stop himself from smiling like an idiot, "Great even. It certainly beats the sofa."

Videl chuckled, her foot caressing his inner calf and causing him to let out an involuntary shudder. The sounds of the city streets reached his ears from beyond the window pane, and he could hear the distant hum of traffic, as well as the screech and thump of dustbin lorries making their way through the concrete jungle. It mustn't have been as early as he had originally thought, as the buzz of city life told him that the majority of civilians were already well and truly seizing the day.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked curiously, the sunlight streaming in through the windowpane.

"A while," she told him, as he gave her a rather guilty grin.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sleep in for so long."

"Ah it's fine, you must have needed it," the girl brushed him off with a wicked smile, "Besides, I was rather enjoying the view."

Gohan blushed, though he was still grinning at her like a maniac.

"I've taken the liberty of ordering in breakfast so that we can stay in bed," said Videl with a playful look.

His mouth ran dry at the mere thought of what she was implying. For once, his mind was certainly not on food. In fact, it seemed to ignore the fact that she had even mentioned breakfast altogether. Flashes of their escapades jolted through his brain, her steamy, haggard breath, the way he held onto her hips in the most scandalous of ways, their blissful cries of passion -

"Oh yeah?" Gohan said, raising an eyebrow suggestively, "I like the sound of that."

"Well that's a relief," she smiled in amusement, before capturing his lips with hers and kissing his breath away - much to his delight.

Videl hummed pleasantly in her throat, as he all too eagerly deepened the kiss, hoisting himself above her as he loosened his grip on her waist, his fingertips brushing her curves, gently at first. Her hands smoothed over his broad shoulders, their skin still hot and musty from their previous exertions, but the halfling struggled to find a reason to care, as he let out a soft moan into her mouth.

Though just when his tongue started to tease hers did she pull away, confusing him slightly as her sapphire orbs drank in his features, her hands either side of his face. Staring, but saying nothing.

"What is it?" he asked in confusion, her thumb brushing his lips that were slightly swollen from overuse.

She sighed, a thoughtful yet heavy sigh that caused him to frown, "I was just thinking."

"About what?" he pressed again, worry dropping into his stomach like cement, solidifying like a concrete brick. _Oh Gods_ , he hoped that she didn't regret it. "Videl, what's wrong?"

"It just feels so strange," the Satan girl said finally, her eyes searching his, "I mean, the way we seem to _click_ , you know? It just feels so right, being with you. But how can it, when you're not even meant to be here?"

He swallowed thickly, as her gaze darted to the empty space above his head. His shining, golden halo may have been concealed, but it was still haunting them.

She was right though, as Gohan had felt it too. It was _insane_. Insane just how much chemistry there was between them. It was something real and powerful, and every touch, every kiss was electrifying. He felt connected to Videl in a way that he had never experienced with any one else before, and he wanted to keep on experiencing those feelings, and every new level of worldliness that they brought forth. Even though he knew that he shouldn't. After all, he didn't belong in this world anymore.

"I know," the young Destroyer mustered, pushing his own feelings of sadness and worry away and giving her a wry smile, "But I'm not going anywhere just yet."

Without waiting for her to reply, he brought his lips down upon hers in a sizzling, heartfelt kiss. Videl didn't protest, instead her hands reached up, fingers raking through his long spikes of hair.

"Thank the Gods," she mumbled beneath his feverish lips, and all to soon did the searing, impregnable heat started building between them once more.

His senses kicked into overdrive as her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, soon finding himself lying firmly on top of her. He rocked his hips against hers eagerly, moulding their bodies further into one another as his kisses trailed over her lips, across her jawline and down her neck, enticing a rasping moan from the girl and causing his head to spin from the enticing sounds that escaped her.

"A-are you certain that you've never done this before?" she gasped, as his hard body rolled against hers once more, his fiendish hands teasing her skin and sending goosebumps up and down her spine.

Gohan chuckled, deep in his throat, before following the trail back to her lips once more, that lopsided grin of his smiling wickedly back at her.

"Once, twice," he shrugged playfully, his spikey mass of hair sticking out at odd angles, "Last night _did_ count, right?"

She smiled, wider than she had done in a long time. His eyes, darker and deeper than the night sky practically poured into her soul, sparkling like immortal stars.

"How many-? Um…" he faltered suddenly, unexpectedly, his demeanour becoming a little awkward, "I mean, n-not that it _matters_ , I just -"

He was cut short, by Videl pressing a finger against his lips, though he was relieved to see that she was still grinning at him.

"Gohan, are you seriously being insecure right now?"" she asked pointedly, rolling her eyes in a teasing yet exasperated manner when he merely blushed in response, "You really are too cute for words."

His blushed deepened, though he shot her a teasing glare, "I am not _cute_."

"Yes you are," she argued back, giggling at his scowling face, "The fact that the boy who saved the world, one of the most powerful beings in the universe and training to become a God no less, is worried about his performance in between the sheets whilst he lies here post sexy-time, naked and on top of me just proves my point."

"Don't say it like that!" he hissed, scowling even more so as she continued to laugh.

"Look, if it _really_ bothers you that much, then the answer to your question is four, well five including you," said Videl with a somewhat defeated sigh.

"It doesn't bother me," The young saiyan gulped, feeling a little silly for even asking, "I just thought - "

He was cut short, by the girl kissing him lightly on the lips and causing his features to soften instantaneously.

"And believe me when I say that those other guys couldn't hold a candle to you," she added with a wink, "Both generally speaking _and_ in the bedroom."

"R-Really?" he asked, failing to hide his cheeky smile as she nodded, the alpha-male hidden deep within him - that he didn't even know existed until now, roared with pride.

She shook her head in amusement at the sudden triumphant look on his face, "Let's just say that I now understand what Bulma meant by a Saiyan's stamina."

Gohan pulled a disgusted face, "I really did not need to know that."

"Sorry," Videl apologised as she snorted with laughter, brushing his cheek with her delicate fingertips, "Honestly though Gohan, you have _nothing_ to be worried about. The other guys I've been with may have thought that they were Gods gift to women, but you are the real deal."

He snorted, the wicked grin back full force, "They really don't seem like your type."

"Hey, don't judge me! I had needs!" she protested, giving him a pointed look, "And how do _you_ know what my type is, wonder boy?"

"Well if _this_ is any indication," he smirked, gesturing to their nude bodies below the sheets and causing her to laugh.

"I suppose you've got me there," the Satan girl replied, mirroring his smirk, "Anyway, enough about me, what about you? I thought that you were more into alien warrior princesses."

The young saiyan groaned, smacking a hand to his face in despair, "I am going to _kill_ Makhai for telling you about that."

"I'm only teasing," she chuckled, pulling his hand away from his embarrassed face, "I don't care how many princesses, warriors or barmaids you've snogged over the years, it's actually kind of a turn on to think that I'm the first one to tame the beast within."

"Oh really?" Gohan mused flirtatiously, his eyebrows shooting upwards as he met her sultry gaze, his eyes turning several shades darker - if that was at all possible, "You really think you've tamed him, do you?"

"I should say so," Videl shrugged mockingly, though she seemed rather enthralled by the sudden predatory stare he was giving her, her heart was pounding rapidly in her ears, so much so that she was certain that he could hear it. She leaned forwards, her fingers brushing through the thick mane of hair at the front of his head, her inviting breath tickling his lips, the challenge lingering on her tongue, "Wanna prove me wrong?"

As it turned out, he didn't need to be asked twice, as with a sudden deep growl that rumbled within his chest, he was everywhere. She gasped, slightly unprepared by the sudden thrust of his hips as he continued to ravish the heated skin of her neck.

The Satan girl moaned in satisfaction as his hard, muscular body pinned her against the mattress, his calloused hands roughly tracing her curves, her waist, her hips, her thighs, grasping at her rear and acting more boldly with his touch. He could hardly contain himself as he quickly got lost in the moment, her hot breath intermingling with his as his chest heaved with anticipation.

He was infatuated, that was given, ignoring all the danger signs that sprang up and rang like frantic alarm bells in his head. They were silenced as quickly as they came, shoved to the back of his mind as he roused another heated groan of pleasure from her throat, her legs hugging his waist, her back arching in ecstasy as she begged him for _more_.

Then suddenly, he heard Bee bark harshly in the hallway, followed by a sharp knock at the front door. Gohan ignored it, enjoying himself far too much to care as he continued in his efforts to make Videl call out his name to the heavens once more. She didn't seem to mind at all, her tongue dancing wickedly around his as her hands dipped below the sheets, quickly becoming occupied between his legs, much to his elation.

 **Knock. Knock. Knock.**

The door knocked again, though louder this time. However, the young saiyan wasn't going to be undeterred, ignoring it and hoping that his and Videl's increasing moans of bliss would soon drown out the noise. Or scare their visitor off. Either one, he didn't really care.

 **Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock!**

There it was again. Even louder than the last, and more frantic, subsequently pissing Gohan off even more so. He growled underneath his quaking breath, tremendously trying to concentrate as Videl's body writhed with pleasure beneath him.

 **Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock!**

Did people not appreciate the sanctity of privacy on this Zalama forsaken planet?!

"Gohan," Videl gasped in between his hot, urgent kisses, "G-Gohan it - might be - _ah_ \- food!"

"I don't care," he mumbled against her lips, paying no mind to her loosening grip and pushed harder against her, their hips connecting once more, as he positively burned with desire.

But to his disappointment, the girl suddenly withdrew from his mouth, snapping them both out of their passionate haze. She gaped in shock, her eyes widening in absolute horror, blinking disbelievingly at the words that had just escaped him.

"You're _not_ HUNGRY?!"

He smirked back, slowly and mischievously, his lustful onyx eyes dancing at her, "Oh, I didn't say _that_."

Videl squealed, as without warning the young halfling swiftly disappeared underneath the sheets. It was so quick that she nearly missed it, the sharp gust of wind hitting her face in the aftermath of his departure. She giggled most uncharacteristically, before her legs began to tremble with an unrelenting yearning. His long hair tickled her bare skin as he moved, causing her to shiver. His soft yet bold lips insistently tracing a trail downwards, teeth nipping at her neck, kissing past her collar bone, lingering a little longer at her breasts before delving below her toned stomach, grazing the sensitive spot on her inner thigh and -

 **KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK!**

"Oh for fuck _SAKE_!" Gohan cried suddenly, flinging the sheets right off of him in a fit of anger and swinging his legs from the bed, his hair even messier and wilder than ever before, "I'm going! I'm going!"

Videl snorted with laughter at the enraged look on his face from where she lay sprawled out on the bed, causing him to shoot her a glare as he trudged angrily to the bedroom door.

"Fine, laugh all you want," The halfling scowled, "But we'll continue this after breakfast."

She chuckled, giving him a sly wink as she got comfortable amongst the pillows, shamelessly eyeing his birthday-suit in all its glory, "I'll hold you to that, wonder boy."

Flashing her a charming grin as he attempted to quell the battalion of butterflies that refused to backdown from their relentless attack, the young saiyan swiftly left the bedroom. Hunting around for his underwear, which he found tossed carelessly aside in the middle of the living room, he noticed that the knocking was now verging on downright obnoxious. It was continuous and annoyingly loud, causing Bee to bark and growl so much that he thought that the poor mutt just might spontaneously combust.

He was seething that was a given, that the best night-slash-morning of his entire existence with the most amazing girl in the cosmos had been rudely interrupted by some stupid delivery - _person_ (he would have said 'boy' but that would have been far too fitting). Either way, it had better be the best damned breakfast that he'd ever eaten, otherwise the person on the other side of the door had best prepare themselves for the prospect of _non-existing_.

"Alright, alright!" Gohan growled through the door, the knocking unrelenting as he hurriedly pulled on his boxers and nudged the frantic labrador out of the way.

Making sure that Bee was safely back in his bed, the teenager unlocked the door, grasping the handle and furiously swinging it open, "Honestly, don't you gits have nothing better to do than harass a man when he's trying to -?!"

"Oh hey son!"

He was so glad that he didn't get to finish the end of his sentence.

"Dad?! What are you doing here?" He blinked in shock, his eyes wide. He did _not_ expect to see his father standing there.

"Oh, I just dropped by to see if Videl wanted to spar for a while," the man replied brightly, cheerily waving the offending knocking hand, "It's her day off after all. And what with everything going on, I thought it'd be good for her to join the rest of us after lunch."

 _Of course_ , Gohan griped inwardly, eyeing the man's signature orange and blue gi. It had already been agreed that the Z-Fighters would be training together today. Piccolo had even made him promise that he would be there. But he had completely forgotten, he'd had more… eh hem… _pressing_ matters to attend to after all. Though if he was honest, he would be surprised if the majority of them could stand after the amount of alcohol they had consumed last night. Still, this was the Z-Fighters he was talking about, and they had handled _a lot_ more than fighting with a hangover.

The young saiyan opened his mouth to reply, but his father seemed to pick up on the strangeness of the situation before he could even begin to explain himself.

"Hang on, I thought that you were still in bed. Your bedroom door was shut so I left you to sleep in," the grin that Goku was wearing slipped right off his face, a confused frown gracing his features, leaving the halfling sweating, "What are _you_ doing here?"

Uh oh. He was in trouble.

The fact that he probably should have come up with some sort of excuse as to where he had been when he returned to his parents home hadn't even crossed his mind. He hadn't lived with his mother and father for eight years after all, so wasn't accustomed to the fact that he should have been a lot more careful in his sudden departure. Whis and Lord Beerus were never really all that bothered when he had run off somewhere to explore, as long as he gave them an update and was back in time for training.

"I-I, uh -," he started hopelessly, though the man gave him no time to answer as he finally took in his boxer-clad appearance.

Goku's eyes widened, as he began to put two and two together, and Gohan could almost hear the cogs turning in his head. Messy hair that certainly looked as though it'd had fingers raked through it a fair few times, swollen lips from feverish kissing, bags under his eyes from lack of sleep - as well as a deep purple, lip-shaped bruise evident just above his waistband.

To the teenager's further embarrassment, his father's curious stare looked past him and into the apartment, where the tell tale signs of discarded clothes remained on the floor from the night before.

And if _that_ wasn't obvious enough -

"Gohan, what's taking so long?" Videl's voice carried to them as she entered the living room, with nothing but a bed sheet hugged around her frame, "Come back to bed - EEK! GOKU?!"

Clapping eyes on the flabbergasted saiyan at the door, the red-faced Satan girl screamed so loudly that it nearly shattered the windows, and quickly dived behind the sofa in order to shield herself. Bee rushed to her aid as she hit the ground with a loud **THUD** , and Gohan found himself completely frozen to the spot. He could do nothing but stare, as he watched all the colour drain from his father's face, his mouth flying open in shock before his cheeks swiftly regained the colour of a beetroot.

"O-oh! _Oh_!" Goku gasped, similarly horrified, realisation slamming into him like a freight train as he span on his heel in a desperate attempt to escape, and almost hit his head off of the doorframe, "S-Sorry! I-I'll just er -!"

" _DAD_!" The young Destroyer roared, blushing bright crimson as he finally managed to regain his senses. He wanted _out_ of this situation just as much as his father did!

Catching on, though still not looking his son in the eye, Goku pressed two fingers to his forehead and disappeared, but not before managing to squeak out a rather hurried ' _Bye_!' before he left.

The halfling sighed heavily, slamming the door shut and resting his forehead against the cool oak, berating his entire existence.

"Well, that was traumatising," Videl breathed from the floor after a few seconds of deathly silence, the cotton sheet twisted oddly around her, her toned legs entangled with the fabric from where she had fallen. Her eyes scrunched up in what could only be described as despair, and her cheeks just as red as his were.

"You're telling me," he muttered weakly, giving her a guilty look as he made his way over to her, scratching Bee behind the ear and sitting back on the sofa with another sigh, "It's my fault really, I should have checked the Ki signature before opening the door. Not to mention that I should be acting a lot more cautious what with Perses setting loose his pet monsters yesterday."

"Goten and Trunks aren't _that_ bad," she jested, eyes still tightly closed, causing him to smile.

"He's gone now you know, you can open your eyes," he told her, "Though I don't think closing them was doing you much good anyway. My dad could still see you."

"Ugh don't remind me," Videl cringed, covering her face with her hands, "If I don't look then I can pretend that I'm still in bed with you, and that your dad, my _mentor_ didn't just see me naked."

"If I'm honest, I'm just thankful that he didn't use instant transmission to get in here," he mustered, trying and failing to make light of the situation, the sheer thought alone was enough to make Videl let out a mortified groan.

"Alright first of all, he didn't even see you naked, he just _presumed_ you were because you were only covered up by a bed sheet," Gohan said pointedly, as the girl still refused to uncover her face, "And second, why bother pretending you're in bed with me, when you could have the reality?"

He grinned wolfishly, as she finally uncovered her eyes, giving him a playful look.

"In fact," he continued, jumping from his seat and scooting down on the floor next to her, "I don't see why we even have to move. It wastes valuable kissing time if you ask me."

She laughed, reaching up and doing just that, pressing her lips against his, sweetly this time. He could have sworn that his heart had just become a puddle of mush.

"He won't tell anyone will he?" she asked, staring up at him after they had pulled apart.

"Nah, I don't think so," he mustered after a moments thought, biting his bottom lip. It probably wouldn't be a good idea if his father blabbed - not that he would be able to tell Whis or Lord Beerus, but still he figured that the less people that knew about him and Videl the better, "I might have traumatised him into silence, at least for a few hours anyway."

"Yeah, you're right," she nodded, before her lips quirked into a smirk, "You should probably talk to him about it though. I mean I don't think he's quite gotten over the fact that you're not a kid anymore. It's probably a bit difficult to process knowing that you're practically a grown man and shagging his prized student."

Gohan let out a noise crossed between a laugh and a strangled squawk, burying his flustered face into her neck, "Gods, how can someone so beautiful be so _vulgar?_ "

Videl cackled, as the young saiyan shot up suddenly, and scowled.

"Hang on, what do you mean _prized_ _student_? I think you'll find that _I_ am my father's prized student Ms Satan."

"Hardly," she scoffed, "Tell me, just when was the last time you trained with your dad? And I don't count yesterdays beat down."

"I've been dead!" He protested hotly, causing her to snort.

"That sounds like a _you_ problem," she smirked, "Face it Gohan, you're not his favourite anymore."

He huffed, "I bet I'm still Piccolo's favourite."

"Oh don't be so sensitive," she quipped, smacking him rather hard on the shoulder, rolling her eyes as he pouted like a wounded puppy, "And I know for a fact that didn't hurt!"

"Might have hurt my feelings though."

" _Gohan…"_

"Oh alright, I'll talk to him about it, happy?" he puffed grumpily, "Although I don't really know how I'm going to face him without dying of embarrassment."

"You're already dead," she grinned, "So what will it matter?"

"Oh har har," the young saiyan retorted with a roll of his eyes, "Nice to know that you speak about my deathlyness with such frivolity Videl."

"Deathlyness?" she choked on the laugh that escaped her, "Is that even a thing?"

"It is now."

" _Right,_ " the girl jested, observing him for a moment as he continued to pout.

Then, without warning she kissed his neck, then his jawline, her fingertips expertly grazing the fabric of his boxers, slowly but surely melting him into the floorboards.

"V- _Videl_ ," he groaned, giving in all too easily to her devilish manoeuvres, his passions igniting all over again as she tossed a leg over his hips, climbing on top of him in one swift movement, the sheet falling to her waist and causing his breath to hitch in his throat.

"Oh, I'm sorry wonder boy," she teased, tracing his muscular pectorals with a delicate finger, her warmth radiating through him and causing him to shudder with anticipation, "How can I make it up to you?"

No sooner had the words left her mouth did he reach up and capture her lips with his own, pulling her against him as he moaned his answer to her tongue, "I can think of a few ways…"

 **KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.**

"WOOF! WOOF!"

Somebody was doing to die.

Gohan growled, releasing the tiny temptress on top of him and throwing his head back in frustration. He closed his eyes tightly shut as he lay on the cool floorboards, attempting to control his sudden wave of fury and not destroy their interruption on the spot.

"I think that's the food," Videl breathed, giggling at his exasperated manner.

"It had better be," the halfling glowered, glaring up at her, "Because if it's _your_ dad behind that door then you're on your own with that one."

* * *

 **Son Residence, Mount Paozu, Eastern Mountains**

Much later that morning, in which Gohan was _finally_ able to prise himself away from the blissful sanctuary of Videl's bedroom, did he reluctantly return to his former home in the Eastern mountains, just in time for his mother to start dishing out enough lunch to feed an army.

Instead of teleporting like usual, the young saiyan took time in his flight on his journey from Orange Star City. He felt lighter than air as he swooped and spiralled through the clouds, performing several loop-de-loops and unable to contain the bubble of laughter that escaped his chest. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops, and profess his feelings for Videl to the entire universe - but alas, he couldn't. Still, it didn't stop him from feeling insanely giddy, and grinning like the biggest idiot in the world, remembering the 'goodbye kiss' that didn't _actually_ end up being a goodbye, instead leading to a rather more passionate encounter up against the front door before he had even made it over the threshold.

Alright, so _maybe_ he should have just left with a kiss and the promise he would see her again later at training. It would have been the sensible thing to do after all, but she had felt too damn amazing.

Feeling satisfied, and with a newfound fire burning in his belly, he couldn't wait to chow down on some good food before heading out for a brutal training session with the Z-Fighters, just like old times. As it turned out, he and Videl didn't get round to eating their breakfast after all.

However, the fire inside of him immediately snuffed out as soon as he walked in through the back door to find his father and brother already sat at the table, with his mother getting straight to the point and asking just where on Kami's great Earth he had been all morning. The goofy grin he had been sporting evaporated right off his face as the reality of confronting his father sank in. How did he even forget that all important fact? Though he couldn't help but think that his clouded mind had something to do with Videl's inviting embrace.

Purposefully not looking the man in the eye, and praying to Grand Zeno that he had kept his mouth shut, he gave his mother the sordid excuse of 'exploring the forest' which she thankfully accepted without question, and instead ordered him to sit down and eat until he was fit to bursting.

He swiftly and obediently seated himself in the empty chair across from his father, his mother placing several dishes of glorious home cooked delicacies in front of him - all of his favourites no less. Though even as his stomach growled with anticipation, did he feel a sickening coil of dread at his navel, feeling his father's obsidian eyes burning into him, surveying him carefully ever since he had entered the room.

He gulped, shuffling uncomfortably in his seat as the man's gaze remained unwavering, though he was _certain_ that he hadn't said anything to his mother, mainly given the fact that he hadn't been castrated yet. He had thought that the ox-princess hadn't even caught on to the sudden tension that had filled the air, yet he had forgotten just how perceptive the woman could be, especially when it came to her boys.

"What in the world is wrong with you two?"

Gohan cleared his throat awkwardly, suddenly becoming more interested in his fork and avoiding her cryptic gaze that drifted between the father-son duo.

"Nothing," his father answered rather quickly, finally breaking his stare and grabbing the bowl of potato salad before piling it high on his plate.

Chi-Chi pursed her lips, sharing a rather perplexed look with Goten, who had also noticed that the pair had become incredibly subdued ever since the deceased teenager had returned.

"You didn't have to do all of this Mum, really," Gohan started, gesturing to the large feast in front of them in an attempt to divert the conversation away from him.

"Nonsense," she tutted, sitting at the head of the table with her own much smaller plate, "It's the least I could do. I bet you don't get home cooked meals like this in that God realm of yours."

He chuckled, "Yeah, to be fair I've travelled all over the universe and haven't found anyones cooking as good as yours. I've missed it."

"Oh that's sweet," she smiled fondly, leaning over and kissing him softly on the cheek before addressing the rest of the table, "Now you boys make sure you eat up everything, you'll be needing all the fuel you can get for your big sparring session this afternoon."

"Yeah it's gonna be great Mum!" Goten piped up excitedly, having been looking forward to it all morning, before turning to their father, "Is Videl coming too, Dad?"

Unfortunately for Goku, he was halfway through devouring a bowl of noodles - and choked at the mere mention of the name. His loud, hacking cough filled the room much to Gohan's mortification, and all he could do was sit there, red-faced and watch his mother pound the man harshly on the back until he swallowed.

"W-whoops, s-sorry," his father mustered finally, gulping down breaths of relieving oxygen as Chi-Chi muttered something about ' _manners_ ' and ' _not chewing your food_ ' under her breath, "Sorry Goten, um y-yeah I think that Videl is joining us."

"That's a point," said Chi-Chi with a slight frown in her husband's direction, "I thought that you were going to invite Videl over to lunch before heading to Roshi's training island?"

Gohan sunk lower in his seat, shoving food rapidly into his mouth and attempting to hide the fact that he was inwardly freaking the HFIL out as his father opened his mouth to answer.

 _Please don't tell her! Please don't tell her! Please don't tell her!_ He chanted desperately in his mind, his frantic eyes pleading with the man over his rice bowl, who seemed to catch on to his panicked expression.

"Oh yeah, I dropped by her apartment earlier," Goku replied smoothly, "But she wasn't in."

The teenager breathed out a sigh of relief, relaxing back into his chair, he was really going to have to thank his father for that one later. That is, if he managed to summon the gall to actually speak to him about the whole embarrassing encounter.

"Oh, really?" his mother blinked, before sighing in disapproval, "That poor girl, I bet she's got called out on duty again. Honestly they're relentless! Just because she's the best constable they've got doesn't mean that they can just call on her whenever they're stuck in a rut! She out of everyone deserves a day off."

"Yeah, Videl works really hard," Goten said a little glumly, chewing on his mouthful, "I wish she could come round and play more often."

"Now now, Goten," Chi-Chi implored firmly, "Videl pops in when she can, and even though I wish she didn't tire herself out so readily, a good work ethic like that is very hard to come by nowadays."

Gohan gulped, forcing himself to swallow the food in his mouth that all of a sudden refused to go down. Feeling the heat creeping up his neck, the halfling tried to make as much noise as possible with his cutlery, as the woman continued to gush about the girl who had brought him to a whole other level of euphoria no more than an hour ago. It was incredibly difficult to get the racy images out of his mind.

"Ooh yes, she'll find a lovely husband in no time that one, she is _quite_ the catch," she smiled, before turning towards him, "Wouldn't you say so, Gohan?"

"Huh?!" he squeaked, dropping his knife to the floor with a loud clatter, he could have sworn he heard his father snort into his soup, "W-what?"

"Oh come off it," his mother rolled her eyes in a playful gesture, "I'm just saying that Videl is a very nice girl, and she _is_ your age after all. You know, I bet if the circumstances were different…"

" _Mum!_ " the halfling spluttered hotly, his cheeks positively glowing crimson, "I don't know what you're suggesting, but I'm only here to fulfil the Super Saiyan God prophecy - !"

"Well," she interjected, her onyx eyes twinkling in amusement, mainly because the young man before her was getting so flustered, "You seemed rather friendly with her before you revealed yourself to us is all. I can see that those dance lessons we imposed on you all those years ago certainly haven't gone to waste."

He gaped at her, as his little brother started to giggle at his misfortune. He _knew_ that his mother was only jesting with him, but he couldn't believe just how close she had come to the truth with her assumptions. And why the _bloody hell_ was his father grinning at him like a sodding cheshire cat?!

"W-we're just friends Mum, honest!" Gohan sweated, "I'm not even interested!"

"Sure you're not," his father muttered not so subtly under his breath, prompting the teenager to forcibly kick him underneath the table.

"YOWCH!" he cried suddenly, the force of Gohan's boot against his shin causing him to topple over backwards, sending him crashing to the floor in a heap, the wooden chair he was lounging on splintering apart on impact.

"Dad! Are you alright?!" Goten gasped, as his mother's forehead vein suddenly made itself known.

"GOKU!" she positively shrieked, "For goodness sake! What have I told you about monkeying around at the dinner table?! That's another chair _gone_! You're lucky that there's still a spare in the garage - !"

Wincing as the commotion unfolded around him - he really didn't mean to kick his father _that_ hard, the young Destroyer quickly gathered up the bowls and plates and fled the scene, retreating to the kitchen and calling out to his mother that he would make a start on the dishes, ignoring Goten's protests of ' _Oi! I haven't finished yet!_ '

As his mother's irate yelling became more muffled, Gohan loudly ran the tap in the sink, and shoved the dirty dishes in the rapidly forming soapy water. Breathing heavily as he desperately tried to curb the warmth in his cheeks, the halfling grabbed the scourer and started to scrub away the remnants of sauce and food from the china, hoping that his embarrassment would wash away with it.

He was only about half way down the mountainous pile, up to his elbows in soap suds when he felt a presence behind him. Knowing exactly who it was without even sensing, the teenager scowled, and began to scrub a rather stubborn stain much more aggressively, much to his visitor's amusement.

"You didn't have to kick me you know," his father mused, with only the slightest hint of disapproval in his tone.

Gohan couldn't help but scoff, "Well _maybe_ you shouldn't have been so tactless!"

To his further annoyance, the man chuckled, "Hey, it was your brother that brought her up, not me."

Giving up on the plate, whose sticky residue still refused to budge, the halfling threw the scourer back in the water haughtily, creating a much bigger splash than he had intended and slopping soapy water all over the floor - and himself.

He groaned angrily as Goku shook his head in exasperation, handing him a tea towel before plunging his hands in the basin and picking up from where Gohan had left off, "Here, I'll wash, you dry."

The teenager quirked an eyebrow disbelievingly, "Since when do _you_ do the washing up?"

"Since when do you suddenly have an attitude with me?" his father shot back, eyebrows raised, causing him to cringe.

"S-sorry," he mustered, becoming sheepish, "It's just that I don't think I ever saw you do it as a kid."

He scoffed, the crockery chinking together in the sink as he worked, "Your mother never used to _let_ me do it. Mainly because I used to break stuff or put things away in the wrong place and she could never find anything. Things change, I've just gotten better at it."

"Yeah," he replied, a little sadly, "A lot of things have changed."

"I'll say," said Goku, passing him the now clean plate, the sunlight from the window catching his features, and Gohan couldn't help but think that his father looked a little more matured for a split second, despite his youthful saiyan genes - wiser even. He looked back at him, "I mean, I just can't believe where the time has gone, even though it felt like an age after you… y-you died. But at the same time its just like I _blinked_ and now… you're here, all grown up."

Gohan faltered, his face becoming warm again, as he desperately tried to focus on drying the plate in his hands, "Dad, about earlier - "

"Don't mention it," his father told him, he could hear the distant voices of his mother and Goten cleaning up the mess back at the table, just beyond the alcove, and he was thankful for the solitude that they had in that moment, "I'm sorry for barging in… and how I reacted. It was just a…well, a bit of a _shock_ was all."

The teenager swallowed, placing the plate on the drying rack beside him before accepting a bowl, not quite knowing what to say. It seemed as though his father was struggling too. That was, until he uttered -

"Just how long has this been going on for, son?"

Gohan stiffened at the man's penetrative stare, almost dropping the dish he was drying. It wasn't often that his father got serious with him, from what he could remember anyway. In his childhood the moments had been few and far between, but when he did, _oh hell_ did the halfling know he was either - A. going to get an extremely stern talking to, or B. his life was in danger.

Like the first time his father had transformed into a super saiyan against Frieza, and he had literally screamed at him to take Piccolo, find Bulma and get off Planet Namek. There was the time when he had punched him to the ground to stop him from rushing to save Piccolo from a less than perfect Cell, and when he had ordered him to end Cell's life whilst he had the chance…

Though from the look on his father's face, he wasn't quite sure whether he was in for option A or B.

"Dad, please," he tried, averting his eyes, "This is embarrassing enough as it is - "

"Gohan, listen," Goku said firmly, "You're a grown man now, and I can't exactly stop you, not to mention that you've been pretty independent for so long. But I just don't want either of you to get hurt."

His eyes widened, _that's_ what he was so serious about? Well, in a way it was a relief, for a moment there he thought that his father was going to Ki blast his privates off.

"Gohan," he said again, turning fully towards him and resting his soapy battle-worn hands on the edge of the sink, "I'm serious, I don't want you to get hurt."

The young saiyan averted his eyes, the guilt resurfacing like a tidal wave that engulfed him all at once, "It's probably a little too late for that."

Goku sighed, paying no mind to the suds that dripped from his fingers and onto the tiled floor at his bare feet, "Do you love her?"

His mouth fell open, though the expression on his face said all his father needed to know, "Dad I-I, I've only known her a _week_ \- ! A-and I -!"

"So?" the man frowned, "I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with your mother after only a day. I mean, yeah, we met as kids and I didn't really understand the feelings that I had at the time, but when I met her again at the World Martial Arts Tournament it was like everything just fit into place, like it was meant to be. And it felt wrong not to just go with it."

"T-this, this is different," Gohan said defiantly, though he failed to hide the trepidation in his tone.

"How so?" he asked him, his stance unwavering.

"Because you and Mum could be together," the teenager stated, leaning heavily up the counter, the bowl he was drying now long abandoned, "Me and Videl…we can't. It's against the rules of the Divine. And in three weeks -"

He inhaled sharply, the words momentarily dying on his tongue as his father continued to stare, "And in three weeks I'll have to leave her behind, just like everyone else. We're not like you and Mum, we're just not meant to be."

As his sentence lingered in the air between them, a beautiful pair of sapphire eyes sprang into his mind, _It just feels so right, being with you. But how can it, when you're not even meant to be here?_

Goku observed him for a few moments, a hint of sadness in his eyes as he beheld his deflated demeanour, "Maybe so, but you can't deny your feelings for her, it'll only make it worse if you fight with yourself."

"I'm such an _idiot_. I knew that I shouldn't get close to her, and yet I still -!" He groaned, burying his face in the damp tea towel, his voice dulled by the fabric, "Ugh, I can't _believe_ that I'm having this conversation with you."

"Why not?" his father quirked, laughing a little, "You may be nineteen years old but I'm still your Dad, Gohan."

"Yeah, I know," he replied softly, pulling the towel away from his face, "But it's still mortifying. Though maybe not nearly as bad as 'the talk' that you attempted to give me in The Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

"Yeah," Goku grinned fondly at the memory, grabbing the tea towel from him and drying his hands, "Though maybe if it'd gone better, you would have known to check the Ki signature before opening the door to your dad in nothing but your underwear."

Gohan shot him a most hateful glare, as he continued to laugh. A more comfortable silence encompassed them, before his father stopped to let out another more defeated sigh, "Look, Videl is… she's more than just my student. She's apart of this family, as good as a daughter to your mother and I."

He blinked in surprise, wondering just what the man was getting at as he continued.

"Ever since the whole Majin Buu thing, your mum sort of took her under her wing, especially when she found out that her own mother had passed away when she was just a little girl," said Goku, "You know how smart your mum is, and Chi-Chi said that every girl needs a mother, even though Hercule is a good man and a real great father to boot. I suppose they just got really close after that. They bonded over their grief and I took her in as my student when I saw how much potential she had. Goten even looks up to her like a big sister. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I support you both, I _love_ you both, and I just want you to know that whatever happens, I'll always be here for you two. But I'm worried about what you're getting yourselves into, especially if it's against the law of the Gods or whatever you said."

The young saiyan nodded glumly. Although he was thankful for his father's support, it only made him feel even more guilty. Damn it, he wished that he could just come out with it, he wished he could tell him the whole truth, that not only was he in love with Videl - last night only solidifying his feelings, did he harbour so many feelings of regret and anguish that came along with it. Because in reality, Videl didn't know the full extent of what he was, nor what he was meant to become, and neither did his father, the man who had always taught him to be honest first and foremost. He couldn't help but think that the love and support that the man was offering would disappear if he knew, and he instead would regard him like a stranger, just as he did when he first came back to Earth. And Gohan did not want to see that loss in his eyes again.

He felt it suddenly, and all at once. The shame and dishonour weighing heavily on his shoulders and threatening to crush him. _Oh Gods_ it was such a mess. What would Whis think of him even, if he knew he had fallen for a mortal girl? Of the incredible yet sinful night he had shared with her last night, and even again this morning because he could no longer hold back his feelings? He bet that he would be so disappointed in him.

"Thanks Dad," he managed to croak out, shaking the hair out of his eyes and attempting to speak the truth - for once, "I know it's stupid, but I've only got three weeks left and I suppose I just wanted to enjoy this little bit of happiness whilst I still can."

"It's not stupid kiddo," the earth-raised saiyan told him, giving him a sad yet reassuring smile, "You're young, and have got to take these small chances whilst they are, or 'grab them by the balls' as Vegeta would say. If you don't, your afterlife will be full of regrets. I know that I missed Ch-Chi so much when I died fighting Raditz, and it took all of my willpower not to return to Earth early when I was out in space trying to master the super saiyan transformation incase I blew everyone up when I came home. I can understand, in a way, the feeling that you want to be with someone but you cant. But then again, I suppose that I had the choice to come back."

The young saiyan sighed, as his father pressed on, his gaze searching him, "You've taken on such an enormous responsibility son, I mean, a God? Are…are you sure? Are you certain that it's the right path for you?"

Gohan bit his lip hesitantly, should he…? His father was looking him in such a way that his resolve was beginning to crack. Much like Videl, the man knew just how to chip away at the walls that he had always managed to build around himself. His breath hitched, the father-son moment drifting between them and opening up endless opportunities.

Could he tell him even? Admit to him what Piccolo had pointed out when he had first reunited with him back on The Lookout? That yes, he was a Destroyer, and not only had he accepted the role because it would mean the end of the universe if he didn't, but that he had accepted because maybe he _did_ have something the prove. To prove that he wasn't just some angry, reckless kid whose mindless power had gotten his father killed. To prove to himself that he was worth something _more_ than what he had become. Admit that, even now, eight years later that he still harboured the shame of not finishing the fight with Cell when he should have done. Could he tell his father that his whole reasoning for becoming a God of Destruction was because of the events surrounding his death? And yet, in trying to prove himself and keep the universe at a safe and thriving level of balance, that he had become a weapon of mass extinction that had helped to spread the seed of nightmares across the cosmos?

He wanted to say he was sorry. So desperately sorry for disappointing him, for lying. Though he didn't want to open up the old wounds from The Cell Games that had barely healed. How could this man, his _father,_ the legendary Son Goku even bare to look at him again when he told him of his true purpose in the universe?

Though as Goku put a strong hand upon his shoulder, his obsidian eyes boring straight into his onyx ones, it was as though they were pleading with him, begging with him to open up.

"D-dad," the teenager began slowly, his breath quaking, "T-there's something I need to tell you, I -"

 **Bleep bleep! Bleep bleep!**

He caught himself, as an onslaught of sound suddenly cut through the air. His father frowned deeply at the noise, though his eyes widened as the young saiyan hurriedly waved a hand, his rounded communicator materialising out of thin air before he caught it in his palm.

Gohan gave him an apologetic smile, though was secretly glad that his alarming moment of weakness had been interrupted before he had recklessly said too much. The device was flashing rapidly, before he tapped the screen to answer it, and in an instant, his mentor's face appeared.

"Hi Whis, I'm just with my dad," he told him quickly, hoping that the Angel would catch on and not mention anything untoward, "What's going on?"

"Good afternoon Gohan," Whis chirped, giving him a small smile, "You are needed back here quite swiftly, though I - "

"Is that your mentor?!" Goku interrupted rudely, gasping almost childishly as his eyes lit up in excitement, the previous tension vanishing completely. Without warning, he pushed his face right into the screen so that his nose was almost flat against it, bellowing his greeting, "HI! I'M GOKU! I'M GOHAN'S DAD!"

"Oh my!" the Angel cried, as the teenager rolled his eyes.

"Dad, you don't need to shout!" he scolded, pulling him back by the scruff of his gi, he could hear snorts of laughter in the background, of which he assumed belonged to The Supreme Guard, "Or stand so _close_!"

"Whoops, sorry son, I got excited!" he laughed cheerily, "I just wanted to meet the person that has taught you so much!"

"Silence mortal!" another voice sounded, the gruff, harsh tone Gohan immediately recognised as belonging to Lord Beerus before he shoved his purple snout into the screen, "We already know who _you_ are! Your damned brat never used to shut up about you. Though he didn't tell me that you were this annoying!"

"Lord Beerus? You're awake?" the halfling quirked, a sense of relief flooding him.

"Of course I am boy!" the Destroyer snarled, backing away slightly so that he was in full view of them, "You didn't think that a pathetic little magic trick would put me out of the count for long now did you?"

"Yikes whose that?!" His father cut across him before he could open his mouth to retort, "Aw, how cute! He looks like a pussycat!"

Gohan cringed, as the 'pussycat' in question positively seethed, "WHAT DID HE CALL ME?!"

"Dad, you really should be more respectful," the teenager told him, though he struggled to hide his amusement, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards, "Lord Beerus is the God that I'm succeeding, and you're being a bit rude."

"O-oh!" Goku gasped, bowing his head in the communicator's direction out of respect, "I am so sorry your great godliness sir! Please forgive my humbleness, it is an honour for you to meet me sir, thank you for gracing the Earth with your presents on this a-auspicious day your Lord!"

Gohan had to stifle the cackle that erupted from his lips behind his hand, he had never seen his father make such an effort to be so overly respectful before. It was hilarious.

Though thankfully, his display appeared to appease the God of Destruction, "Hn, it looks like I misjudged you, Saiyan. I must admit that you are rather _entertaining_ , if that performance was anything to go by."

"Thank you, your stupendousness!"

The halfling was rather perplexed, as his father bowed even lower, his forehead almost touching his feet.

"Good to finally meet you Goku," Whis chuckled heartily, before turning his attention to the teen, "Now Gohan, I'll be sending The Warp along shortly, your services are needed in the Kai's realm."

He nodded dutifully, before banishing the device as soon as the transmission cut off, looking towards his father who had now thankfully straightened himself back up to full height.

"Sorry Dad, I've got to go," he said, shooting him an apologetic smile, "Don't wait up for me, and train hard today alright? I'll try and make it back it time."

"You got it kiddo," he grinned back, "And be careful."

Though as he made to take his leave to meet the The Warp outside - he didn't want it to destroy his parents cottage after all - did the man stop him in his tracks.

"Oh Gohan, before you go, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

Gohan's eyes widened, though he quickly composed himself, flashing his father a nervous smile, "Oh it was nothing. Just thanks for being so cool about… everything, you know, with me and Videl."

"Of course son," Goku nodded, watching him go.

Though as a brilliant bright light lit up the garden and catapulted him to the Kai's sacred realm, Goku couldn't shake the ominous feeling that it wasn't just his power that Gohan was holding back from him.

* * *

 **The Sacred Realm of The Kais, Universe Seven**

Gohan was a little confused as to why he had been summoned to The Sacred Realm of The Kais of all places, though he wasn't going to ask nor argue with Whis in front of his father. It wasn't all too often that he journeyed to the Creators' world, nor was it the norm to meet his mentor there. So he was more than curious when he appeared upon the lush green fields, the sight of Whis and Lord Beerus, along with The Supreme Kai and Kibito greeting him from where they stood conversing with The Supreme Guard.

"Ah _there_ you are Sparky!" Makhai grinned at him though fanged teeth, calling him over to where they had congregated in front of the Kais' sacred temple. The ancient stone stood proudly against the backdrop of the calm violet sky, overlooking the rest of the vast emerald planes.

He smiled back, as Whis waved his sceptre, a soft silver glow enveloping his form before his jeans and t-shirt were replaced by his usual ceremonial garb.

"Excellent Gohan," the Angel nodded in satisfaction, "Now that we are all accounted for, we can exact our plan."

"Plan?" the young saiyan quirked, "What plan?"

"We'll get to that," Lord Beerus glowered, and the teenager immediately got a bad feeling, "Firstly, we'd like to draw your attention to something extremely concerning that transpired last night."

 _Crap!_ Gohan froze, watching their expressions carefully. Something was definitely off, even Kibito had a fierce look about him. _They must know! How do they know?!_ He panicked, _I'm screwed, I am so_ ** _so_** _screwed._

But just when he thought that his predecessor was about to erase 'Little Gohan' from all existence, did Whis chime in, "Perses appeared on the Destroyers' world last night."

"Oh thank the Gods," the teenager blurted suddenly in a heaving sigh of relief, causing the others to look towards him as though he had just grown another head, "I-I mean er, oh no! What is that dastardly demigod up to this time?!"

Luckily, his quick save seemed to have done the trick as Whis continued, though his expression was still grim, "He wished to speak with the Oracle Fish before he was dragged back into The Void, but he did not get the chance."

"But why would Perses want to speak with the Oracle?" Gohan asked, as The Supreme Guard looked on confused, it seemed that they had not been informed of this revelation either.

"When he was a young Destroyer-in-training, the Seer foretold his demise if he continued on his path to seek what he referred to as 'divine justice'," the Angel informed them, as Lord Beerus, Shin and Kibito looked on darkly, "This only further fuelled Perses' desire to see an end to the cosmos and start afresh. He wished to eliminate all those that would dare to oppose him, whether God or mortal, for the Oracle predicted his downfall by a mortal warrior that was able to rival him."

"Mortal?" Kratos blinked disbelievingly, as Gohan remembered the prophecy the Seer had told him about years ago, "The prophecy predicted that a _mortal_ warrior would defeat Perses?"

"Prophecies are not a definitive prediction of the future," explained Whis, a slight twinkle evident in his eyes, "In fact, a prophecy is a preview if you will, of the destination of a particular way. A description of the features and ultimate end of a path. Every road we take leads somewhere and has several landmarks along it. When someone begins to walk a certain path, you can safely predict the experiences they will have there as well as the destination they will reach if you know the way. A destination, or destiny, is somewhere where a road leads to, and although you cannot separate a road from its destination, we all have free wills and can turn back or move away from certain roads, thereby disconnecting from the destination of those paths. The warrior in Perses' prophecy may have chosen a different path, it is impossible to predict of course as we do not know the identity of this person. Though they may not exist yet or have already died, similarly they could be a completely different being altogether."

"Gutted," Makhai muttered under his breath, as Whis spoke again.

"Perses believes that his destiny is to create a new universal order, one where he is the one true God of Everything, convinced that as a descendent of the Kais that it is his birthright, a complete being capable of both Creation and Destruction, God and mortal, both sides of the same coin, the complete package," he shook his head in disapproval, "Though the path he walks upon is not righteous nor just, no matter how much he believes so. I surmise that he has sought to change his course in one way or another, realising all too late that his journey would mean his end. He seeks the Oracle to see if her prediction remains the same."

"But he's still trying to wipe out everything isn't he?" asked Alala, "I don't understand, how can he think that anything has changed?"

"He has something, something that he didn't have last time," said Lord Beerus, his jaw clenching tightly.

"Like a weapon?" asked Eris, a deep frown upon her features.

"Not necessarily," The Supreme Kai spoke up, "You see, we know that Perses used the Super Dragonballs not long before he was defeated and imprisoned. Our guess was that he wished for immortality which is why he was able to survive in The Void for so long, however, this does not appear to be the case."

"Perses informed me that he used the Super Dragonballs to wish to become a 'true god'," said Whis, as Lord Beerus gave a disapproving snort, "What he means by that isn't precisely clear, but from what I could gather, it sounded as though he had been granted a deity's lifespan, something that is only supposed to be granted by Grand Zeno. His halo was gone, so it appears that not only has he been given life, but he has rid himself of his mortality altogether."

"That doesn't sound like a very wise thing to do," said Bia, as their eyes widened at the revelation.

"Of course not," Lord Beerus growled, his arms folded across his chest, "Why it may be true that the Dragon God can grant any wish, there is a _reason_ why only The Omni-King can bestow the lifespan of a deity on a mortal, even one that his half-Kai. What he has done is unnatural, and could mean dangerous consequences for both us and Perses."

"What do you mean?" Gohan quirked, it appeared as though the demigod's plan was coming into fruition, the adrenaline pumping through his veins.

"Forcing the life of a God onto a body and soul that is not ready could be disastrous," said Whis, "Perses is incredibly powerful, not to mention half-deity, so his body may be able to contain such power. While it was for a time that his divine half and mortal half worked in harmony and gave him an incredible amount of potential, to which I certainly saw no limit, - "

The young saiyan shared a flabbergasted look with The Guard. Limitless? Now that didn't sound good.

"- his soul is tainted and impure, so the divine energy may indeed cause a duality in his mind. It'll become broken, unhinged, warped, thus making Perses the most dangerous being in the entire cosmos. Draining energy from Lord Beerus to fuel this strength and escape makes much more sense now, gaining even more divine power to help his cause."

They were stunned into silence, as Makhai let out a low whistle, "Wow, so we're dealing with a proper nutcase then aren't we?"

Lord Beerus let out an angered growl, "Typical that I was asleep when he showed up, I would have _destroyed_ that despicable brat."

"But what is his plan?" asked Kratos, his teeth gritted in frustration, "If he manages to escape, then we need to stay one step ahead of him!"

"Ah, but we already are," said Whis a twinkle in his eye as he looked towards the Junior Destroyer, "Gohan, where is that Z-Sword of yours?"

"Er, on Earth, under my bed," the halfling frowned, "Why?"

"Under your _bed_?!" Lord Beerus shrieked, causing the majority of the group to flinch in terror, "You just _shoved_ the sacred relic in the same place as your old socks and mothballs?! Do you have no respect for a weapon of the Divine?!"

"He deserved it," he growled underneath his breath, still seething at the perverted old relic.

"Don't mutter boy, I am your superior!"

"I was just hiding it, alright?!" The teenager snapped back, not even his predecessor knew that Z could speak to him, he could do without the teasing and the Destroyer thinking that he was crazy, "I mean, its sharp and someone could hurt themselves on it!"

Lord Beerus scoffed, tutting about his incompetence before Whis sighed.

"Whilst I admire your caution my boy, it would probably be wise if you kept it close by," he stated wisely, "Or at least in the small pocket of reality that is your safe place. Although I am certain that Perses will be unable to lift it."

"Wait, what?" Gohan blinked in shock, "Perses is still after the Z-Sword?"

"I'm afraid so," his mentor replied in distain, "He believes that the ancient relic will aid him on his journey to victory, 'cutting down his mightiest of foes'."

"But he couldn't even lift it!" The young saiyan protested blindly, grasping at his memory banks, "Could he?"

"No, he couldn't," said Shin, smiling a little at that, before his features became stern once more, "Though even though he could not make the sword move an inch in its place when he attempted to steal it a thousand years ago, I doubt that he won't try to steal it again nor take him long to realise that it is you that has it."

The halfling's eyes widened, he had indeed taken the Z-Sword to Grand Zeno's palace at yesterdays meeting, and no doubt Zamasu would have seen it. It wouldn't be long until he told Perses, he may have already even. Even if the ex-Destroyer in training couldn't lift or use the relic, it wouldn't stop him from taking his frustration out on Gohan and those he loved. _Fan-frigging-tastic_.

"So, Perses is most likely going to come after Gohan?" Alala mustered worriedly.

The teenager in question scoffed, "Let him try, he'll meet the end of my sword before he can even _think_ about trying to lift it."

"That's the spirit, kid!" Lord Beerus chortled, as Whis pursed his lips.

"Be that as it may Gohan, it is not to be taken lightly," he implored, "Perses may not have been able to lift the Z-Sword last time but there are now endless possibilities to his power. You need to be careful, and continue to train hard."

"Yes Sir," he nodded, determined, "I'll do whatever I can to stop him."

"I'm sure you will," the Angel smiled, "But speaking of stopping him, that brings our attention to the apprentice Kai, Zamasu and therefore our plan."

Makhai gasped in excitement, "Have you managed to come up with some dirt on that git Whis?"

"Makhai _please_ ," The Supreme Kai frowned, causing the ginger-haired teen to smile sheepishly.

"Sorry Master."

Whis chuckled, "Well, I suppose you could say that Makhai. You see, after my little chat with Perses last night, I decided to take a peep into the tenth universe to see if I could connect any dots in regards to Zamasu. And I have to say that I found something rather pressing that needs addressing immediately."

"Oh really?" said Gohan, cocking his head to one side, though he was itching to travel to the tenth universe and expose the evil Kai, "Like what?"

"See for yourself," said Whis, tapping his long sceptre against the ground so that a rounded hologram appeared above their heads.

They looked up, as the image of Zamasu appeared, his features calm and collected as he poured tea into an elegant china cup in front of his master Gowasu. The older Kai was seated at a small wooden table underneath a large blossom tree, and they appeared to be in the sacred realm of the tenth universe from what Gohan could see. The vast emeralds fields of grass were the same as the seventh universe, though instead of a violet sky it was a soft yellow, and he could depict several large moons hanging above them in the distance.

Gowasu sighed as Zamasu continued to stand dutifully with a cool expression, breathing in the sweet aroma of his tea before taking a grateful sip.

Gohan's breath hitched in his throat, thinking for a moment that the tea had been poisoned by the corrupted apprentice. But to his relief, the Supreme being aimed a small, but satisfied smile towards his successor.

 _"Very nice Zamasu,"_ _Gowasu initially praised, before a frown appeared on his wrinkled features_ , " _Though I daresay that it would be sweeter if it wasn't so clouded."_

 _Zamasu said nothing, merely closed his eyes and gave a short bow of his head._

 _"This tea is a mirror pointed inwards," The Supreme Kai continued, eyeing his apprentice, "If the soul of its maker is clouded, the tea will be as well. Tell me, what is it that clouds this cup?"_

 _"I'm not quite sure that I understand Master," he replied, straightening up to face him fully, yet his demeanour remained calm._

 _Gowasu sighed, he looked exhausted, "That was quite an interesting meeting, wasn't it?"_

 _Again, Zamasu did not reply._

 _"Why did you antagonise that young Destroyer-in-training?"_

 _The amber liquid in the cup swirled and appeared to cloud even more so, and Gowasu noticed, his lips pursed as he awaited his student's reply._

 _He cleared his throat, looking a little more uncomfortable as his jaw clenched, "He was incredibly rude, Master."_

 _"Oh?" Gowasu quirked, "And did you not think that you were guilty of that also?"_

 _"He threatened me."_

 _"It was a good job that he didn't do more that that," he stated quite firmly, "He may be junior but he is still a Destroyer, Zamasu."_

 _Zamasu gritted his teeth, he looked agitated now. The tea in Gowasu's grasp darkened._

 _"That is the problem, Master," the apprentice spoke lowly, his voice a little strained, "How is it that a - a_ ** _boy_** _like that is able to gain the power of a divine being? How is it that Destroyers are not only drafted from mortals, but they are gifted with the power of a God? Gods more powerful than Kais? One's granted with the task of eradicating what threatens balance when we Kai do nothing but watch!"_

 _Gowasu's lips drew into a thin line, "We have different roles for a reason. Us Kai may have been born from the Kaiju tree planted by the ancient Gods themselves, but Destroyers are beings that have already gone through the trials of mortals, where death has dealt them its most wicked hand. This is so that they can show reason in their destruction, their mortal qualities informing an understanding of the consequences of their actions. Wiping life from all existence is not something to be taken lightly, but it is done to maintain peace in the cosmos, dear Zamasu."_

 _"Peace?" Zamasu all but snarled, "There cannot be peace when destruction is still at play. When I was invited here from my position as the North Kai, I thought that you would teach me divine justice. But all_ ** _you_** _seem to do is watch whilst these monsters stain existence with each others blood!"_

 _The cup rattled on its saucer, the liquid turning completely black. Gowasu remained silent._

 _"And not only do Destroyers feed this endless cycle of violence, sprouting more fear and death, we sit idly by as the more superior beings, the_ ** _purer_** _race stand back and do nothing! We do nothing but watch mortals stain the cosmos with their filth, only for the Angels to grant the ones whose power has the potential to surpass that of a God the gift of divinity!"_

 _The Supreme Kai stared at his apprentice for a few moments, his tea remained untouched as he drew a rather haggard breath, "You lack faith in mortals still, after all this time. Tell me why."_

 _Zamasu breathed deeply, attempting to calm his outburst, "Master Gowasu, you have said something often, to make mistakes but learn from them thus forging a better world, that is the essence of a mortals spirit. But as far as I can see, mortals do not learn this way at all, and you have seen this countless times, even shown me through your teachings."_

 _"Patience Zamasu," he replied firmly, "Every seed needs time to grow, much like yourself and that young Destroyer that has caused you so much contempt. You are young, you have a lot to learn."_

 _The junior Kai ground his teeth, his jaw clenching tightly, "Gardens are tended, not just watched. Should a gardener not pluck the weeds? Why is it that Destroyers have that privilege whereas we do not. They do not see what we see, they may have divine power but their mortal minds make them arrogant and crass, only eradicating what they see fit. Surely you must see this in its truth? The sixth and seventh universes in particular are rife with corruption - I heard that their Destroyers end entire civilisations based on the quality of their food!"_

 _Gowasu sighed rather heavily, "Despite what you think, destruction is not mindless. Do you ever ponder the relationship between good, evil and justice?"_

 _"Of course, all the time," he nodded boldly._

 _His master waited, prompting him to elaborate._

 _"Evil is the great obstacle to good," said Zamasu, "And justice is the sword to which good can overcome this obstacle and flourish."_

 _"That is one perspective," said Gowasu, his apprentice's eyes narrowed though he appeared not to have noticed, "But I have come to view it this way. Justice is not a sword eradicating evil, but a scale keeping good and evil in balance."_

 _"Balance, Master?"_

 _"One can succumb to evil, but reject that darkness and rediscover the light with new understanding._ ** _Justice_** _makes that journey possible," he told him, "Evil informs good, and that is why we give the mortals their minds. It is that very reason why Destroyers are grown from mortals, and their deeds are not performed without thought."_

 _A tense silence rained between the two deities, as Zamasu's stare hardened, though the rest of his features remained cool and collected. After a few seconds, his lips twitched slightly upwards, as though he found his superiors words somewhat amusing._

 _"It was as I said to the Gods of Universe Seven, you give corruption far too much credit," he spoke lowly, causing Gowasu to raise an eyebrow curiously, "Evil does not inform good, it sullies it. Much like the mortals sully the worlds they have been gifted with violence, and that arrogant Junior Destroyer sullied The Omni-Kings sacred palace by threatening a purer being, in front of the Grand Minister now doubt."_

 _Gowasu stared unblinkingly, as Zamasu continued, his voice smooth and calming, "Mortals receive the divine gift of intellect, the potential for wisdom. But they misuse it to destroy the beauty of creation. Mortals do not succumb to evil, they_ ** _are_** _the evil. And just like that degenerative half-saiyan, they create it and spread it with minds that they shouldn't possess."_

 _He chuckled darkly, "After all, death and devastation is widely accepted as long as it does not affect the universal balance, correct? And if it is threatened, then it is only met with more destruction. How can we call ourselves Supreme Gods if we watch this plight and do nothing to stop it?"_

 _"Zamasu," His master swallowed, "You have a strong hunger for justice and that can be a great thing, but we must put temperance over righteousness and guide lost children to the good path at a pace that may seem slow even for us, they must grow and learn in_ ** _time_** _. Do not forget the true reason you have honed your fighting ability - to strengthen your mind in your journey toward enlightenment. Being Gods does not make us perfect, whether we are grown from the sacred trees or have divinity thrust upon us, we too must learn and mature overtime."_

 _Zamasu frowned, as if pondering his words, "And is it true?"_

 _"Is what true?" Gowasu blinked at the sudden strangeness of his question._

 _"Is it true? What the boy wields?" he almost demanded, though managed to keep his voice from rising._

 _"Ah, I see that you noticed what was encased in the scabbard on his back," The yellow-skinned Kai nodded in approval at his student's observation, "Indeed, it appears that the young Lord Gohan has managed to free the legendary Z-Sword out of its prison on the seventh sacred world. I never thought that such a thing was even possible."_

 _"I see," The apprentice replied, his eyes cold, "I am aware of the prophecy that goes along with it. Though I thought that being in the Kai's realm that only a Kai of Supreme divinity would be able to free it."_

 _"Not necessarily," said Gowasu wisely, "The story goes that only one that is worthy is able to wield it. Though the source of judgement for that worth remains a mystery."_

 _Zamasu scoffed, "I see nothing worthy about that ruffian."_

 _"He may be a little rough around the edges, but give him time and he is sure to be proven a formidable adversary," he replied curtly, "I have no doubt that he will have to step up and prove his worth if Shin is correct in what is about to befall the seventh universe, such a trifling situation."_

 _"Indeed," the younger Kai said lowly, averting his gaze momentarily, "Though I do wonder Master, if we have anything similar to the Z-Sword in our universe?"_

 _To his surprise, Gowasu laughed, "Oh heavens no! Such a powerful relic like that cannot be rivalled or replicated! The one and only Z-Sword has been imprisoned in the Kai's realm of the seventh universe for billions of millennia, some even presume since the dawn of existence! It is a wonder to where it even came from, all is known about the legend is that it states that it was forged in the heart of a dying star before becoming trapped in ancient stone. And not one being has been able to creak the relic in its place until Son Gohan was able to free it."_

 _Zamasu looked rather annoyed by this, surveying his chortling master with contempt before he whipped the cup and saucer away from him, "Here Master, allow me to brew some more tea. I daresay this one has grown cold by now."_

 _"Thank you Zamasu," Gowasu nodded, "That is very thoughtful. Though do try to make sure that you make it sweeter this time. Reflect on our discussion whilst you work."_

 _"Of course, Master," he spoke through gritted teeth, placing the darkened brew on the wooden tea trolley behind him, "I apologise for my brashness earlier."_

 _"Oh?" the older Kai quirked, as he continued._

 _"Yes, and I believe I must in turn thank you for your patience and the wisdom that you continue to bestow upon me."_

 _"That is… quite alright Zamasu," said Gowasu, a little uncertainly, fiddling a little with the green patora earring on his left lobe in a nervous gesture, "I strive to do all I can to aid you in your journey to become the next Supreme Kai."_

 _Zamasu's eyes glinted, a cheery yet borderline sadistic smile gracing his lips as he bowed in respect, "And what a journey it'll prove to be. As you said Master, all I need to get there is a little time."_

 _And with that he walked away from the shade of the tree, the slight squeak of the trolley as the wheels turned in motion filled the stagnant air behind him._

"Tosser," Gohan spat, as the image retreated back into the sceptre, leaving the sky before them clear once more.

"Gohan, please do mind your language," scolded Whis, tutting at his vulgarity as The Supreme Guard snorted with laughter.

"But how can he say things like that?!" The young Destroyer snarled angrily, "Did you _not_ hear what he said about me?! Not to mention the utter rubbish he was spouting about Destroyers and mortals?! I've never heard a bigger pile of - "

"Exactly," The Angel quipped, cutting across him, a smile playing on his lips, "You do appear to have upset the apprentice Kai, young Destroyer."

"So what?!" Makhai guffawed, "If that wasn't any indication that the slimy git is chumming it up with Perses then I don't know what is! I say we go over there and beat the crap out of him!"

"I second that notion!" Alala said menacingly, readying her bow and arrow.

"Ugh, can you please turn off your mouth sirens?!" Deimos snarled, holding his head, it appeared that the ex-hellion still hadn't recovered from drinking so much last night.

"Oh do shut up Deimos," Eris scowled, "You're not holding us back just because you're still hanging out of your arse. If you're feeling too delicate then you should have stayed with your head stuck down the toilet."

"Insolent wench!" Deimos spat, although he looked even greener than usual, as Bia and Kratos sighed in distain, "It was all your idiotic boyfriend's fault - !"

"As if I'd look twice at that ginger peasant - !"

"That's enough," Shin cut across them firmly, "No one is fighting _anyone_ until we say so."

" _Boring_ ," Makhai drawled, as Alala's arrow sagged in her grasp, "Why not?"

"Because you have a different assignment," Whis chuckled, as the group of teens looked towards him in confusion, "The Supreme Guard will indeed accompany us to the tenth universe, though you will not be confronting Zamasu. Instead, you will be scouting the realm undetected for any clues as to how Zamasu is helping Perses escape, and any other information as to the rest of their plans."

Their eyes widened as Makhai gasped in delight, clapping his hands together, "Yes! Stealth mode! I love a good stealth mission! Ooh! Can we have code names?!"

"Absolutely not!" Kratos growled, "We are _not_ giving each other code names!"

"You're just jealous because Gohan and I used up all the cool ones," The ginger-haired teen scoffed, before looking towards the young saiyan in question, "Isn't that right Radium-223?"

"Damn straight, Agent Orange."

The rest of the Guard shared an exasperated look, as Kratos pinched the bridge of his nose in despair.

"So what do I do?" Gohan asked curiously, he didn't like the sudden smirk that Lord Beerus was giving him, nor the worried glance that Shin and Kibito exchanged beside him.

Whis smiled, "You Gohan, are going to apologise."

"WHAT?!" His jaw dropped, "Apologise?! For what exactly?!"

"For challenging Zamasu at Grand Zeno's palace," The Angel informed him brightly, "It simply isn't proper. We cannot have animosity between universes after all."

The teenager snorted, inclining his head to his predecessor, "Tell that to him."

"Be quiet brat!" Lord Beerus snapped, "If we say that you're going to apologise, then that is what you will do. No ifs, ands or buts!"

He scowled, as Makhai sighed, clasping him reassuringly on the shoulder, "He might have a point. Be the bigger God in this scenario you know? Take the high ground, turn the other cheek - which I recently learned was about faces by the way, and not about - "

"I see what Whis is trying to get at here," Alala cut across him, "You lure him into a false sense of security, and then we can strike!"

The Supreme Kai cleared his throat, "Like we said, none of you are fighting. You are instead to raid the scared temple and be on the lookout for anything untoward."

"Forgive me Master," Bia quirked tentatively, "But isn't sneaking around the tenth universe a little unlawful?"

"Who cares?" Lord Beerus growled before the Kai could answer, "These are pressing times. If our enemy is being sneaky then we have every right to be suspicious of outbursts like the one that Zamasu exhibited back at The Omni-King's palace. It's all or nothing, we just have to be smart about it."

"That being said, Gowasu and especially Zamasu must not know that you're accompanying us," said Shin, eyeing the Guard, "You must teleport in, scout the place and get out without any interference. I shudder to think what would happen if we get caught and have to explain ourselves without coming up with any evidence against Zamasu."

"Precisely," said Whis, his aqua eyes glinting at the young halfling before him, "And in the meantime, Lord Beerus, The Supreme Kai, Kibito and I will present ourselves with Gohan to deliver his apology. There is nothing illegal about us entering the tenth universe for reconciliation after all."

"Why do I suddenly get the feeling that I'm not just going there to say sorry?" Gohan mustered weakly, as his mentor gave him a broad smile.

"And do make sure that you mind your airs and graces Gohan, we wouldn't want you cause any upset again," he quipped, avoiding the question.

The teenager groaned, "This is either going to be extremely dangerous or really silly isn't it? There is no in between with you."

Whis chuckled, as Lord Beerus smirked, "Come along!"

Gohan sighed, as the light from The Warp engulfed the sacred emerald planes, bathing the large group in a soft white glow before they shot into the atmosphere. The young saiyan had never travelled to a different universe before, but suspected that it would take some time to get there, even with Whis' super-sonic hyper speed. He would have been more excited about exploring another part of the multiverse, yet the anticipation of confronting Zamasu most certainly overshadowed that feeling.

If it really was a distraction that his mentor was hoping for, he prayed that he could pull it off long enough for The Supreme Guard to find some damning evidence on the corrupted Kai. Though there was something about Zamasu's conversation with Gowasu that was irking him - ' _After all, death and devastation is widely accepted as long as it does not affect the universal balance, correct? And if it is threatened, then it is only met with more destruction.'_

What he had said wasn't exactly _untrue_. Though Gohan shook away the thoughts as quickly as they had come. The young Kai didn't know _him_ at all, for Gohan had only destroyed when absolutely necessary, when he had no other choice. It wasn't as though he accepted the devastation that murder and war brought, not in the slightest! It was like Kibito had told him last night outside Capsule Corp., that sometimes unavoidable sacrifices needed to be made in order for the universe to prosper. It was engrained in him as a Destroyer, and he had lived and breathed the very notion that what he was doing was right for the last eight years. But even still… if what he was doing was so right, then why couldn't he bring himself to tell his family and friends what he had become?

No. Zamasu was wrong. He _had_ to be.

His mind was whirring, as the distant voices of Shin and Kibito reached his ears, discussing The Supreme Guard's next move.

" - wait until we get close enough to the realm with The Warp and then Kratos, you will teleport directly into the sacred temple, is that clear?"

"Yes Master," they chorused, their features hardening.

Gohan sighed as a myriad of solar systems whizzed past them, they were travelling so fast that the vastness of space around them was quickly becoming nothing more than a white blur. His onyx eyes darted to his mentor up ahead, whose gaze was fixed forwards, concentrating on keeping them all inside the tunnel of light. Lord Beerus too looked rather serious, his legs crossed comfortably underneath him, though a dark expression about his features.

"What's up with you?" Makhai's voice rang suddenly in his ear, breaking him out of his thoughts and causing him to jump, "Why are you so spaced out?"

"N-Nothing!" the halfling answered quickly, prompting the boy to raise an eyebrow, "I'm just thinking about the mission is all."

"Oh really?" the ginger-haired teen quirked, the rest of their comrades still conversing with The Supreme Kai - it appeared that Makhai had slipped away from the group, the pair now bringing up the rear of The Warp.

"Yep," he forced a grin, "I just can't wait to expose that pathetic excuse for a Kai and wipe that smug look off his face."

Makhai eyed him for a moment, "That's rather… spritely of you."

"Just excited!"

"Hmm mmm," he hummed thoughtfully, "You know, I would have believed you if it wasn't for the _deafening_ sound of your virginity popping last night."

" _MAKHAI_!" Gohan squawked, slapping his hands over his mouth, blushing furiously as he lowered his voice to a hiss. Luckily, the rest of their group hadn't noticed his outburst.

"What? It's true isn't it?" Makhai scoffed, shoving him off, his amber eyes looking him up and down disapprovingly, "Gods look at you, it's written all over your face! Not to mention that you're practically glowing!"

"I don't -!" he started, "Wait, what?"

"And after I specifically warned you not to," the Lethien shook his head, though thankfully kept his voice to a whisper, "But low and behold Mister Destroyer just couldn't keep it in his pants."

"It just _happened_ alright?!" he spouted hotly, "It wasn't like that!"

"Oh? Then what was it like?" Makhai quirked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Gohan spluttered angrily, "As if I'm going to tell you that!"

He scoffed, "Spoil sport."

"What are you two arguing about back there?!" Lord Beerus snapped harshly, causing the two teens to whirl around.

" _Nothing_!" The young saiyan blurted without thinking, as Makhai squeaked in fright at the Destroyer's penetrative stare.

His gaze shifted to Gohan, "Mind your tone with me boy. I swear to you, if you mouth off at me one more time I will knock you off this Warp and I won't even look back!"

"Sorry," the halfling replied glumly, before shooting a hateful glare towards his best friend as soon as his predecessor turned back around.

It appeared as though the rest of The Warp's occupants caught on to the sudden tension, and the rest of their journey was spent in silence. Though that didn't stop Gohan from noticing how Makhai's worried eyes would drift to him occasionally, still, the young saiyan chose to ignore him altogether.

The trip didn't take as long as he had predicted, and no sooner had The Supreme Kai given the Guard the signal to teleport out of The Warp, did they suddenly appear high up in a soft yellow sky, with fields of emerald grass below their feet. The teenager immediately noticed how different the air was in the tenth universe, though couldn't quite put his finger on as to why. He felt uncomfortable - misplaced almost, as though he didn't quite _fit_. The strange feeling made a shiver travel all the way down his spine to the point where his tail used to be, though he shrugged it off quickly, as he caught sight of two figures staring up at them from the meadow below.

"Lord Beerus? Supreme Kai of the Seventh?" Gowasu blinked, rather surprised to see the deities of Universe Seven appear suddenly before them. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit to our sacred world?"

Zamasu's eyes hardened from where he stood dutifully next to his master, his gaze immediately locking with Gohan's, prompting the young Destroyer to glare back at him as they landed.

"Please forgive the intrusion Gowasu," Shin spoke kindly, sharing a respectful bow with Kibito, "I sincerely hope that we have not interrupted anything of importance."

"Not at all Shin," Gowasu smiled, bowing in kind, though he appeared a little weary of both Gohan and Lord Beerus' presence, his gaze darting to the Destroyers momentarily before addressing his fellow Kai once more, "Y-you remember my apprentice, Zamasu?"

The Kai in question bowed his head towards them, prompting Whis to chuckle.

"How could we forget?" The Angel grinned, "In fact, Zamasu is the exact reason for our visit to your universe this afternoon."

"Oh?" The Supreme being quirked, as the apprentice looked on confused, "Is that so?"

"Quite," Lord Beerus sniffed, "It appears that there may be some bad blood between my successor and yours, so let's put it to bed shall we?"

Gowasu gulped, "L-Lord Beerus, I'm sure that Zamasu didn't mean -"

"Don't make this painful Kai," the Destroyer interrupted, eyeing the pair in question, "My boy is at fault for his outburst back at The Omni-King's palace just as much as yours."

"Y-yes I see," the Kai stuttered, his gaze averting to the young apprentice, "I suppose it would only be proper to reconcile and put this little incident behind us."

"I'm glad that you see it our way," Lord Beerus smiled wryly, before nudging Gohan roughly in the back, "Well Gohan? Don't you have something to say to Zamasu?"

The young saiyan gritted his teeth, attempting to curb the intense loathing that rushed through his veins as he stared at the green-skinned Kai, who appeared to be enjoying every second of his struggle.

"I apologise," said Gohan shortly, unable to bring himself to look the smirking deity in the eye for want of not decking him to the ground.

"For….?" Whis pressed, smiling whimsically at him.

The teenager sighed heavily, just what in the world was his mentor trying to do? He had caught on to the fact that he ought to be distracting the wicked Kai, but he had never felt so belittled. He hoped that they would get some sort of signal soon, he thought, his eyes glancing towards the ancient stone temple in the distance, where he knew The Supreme Guard were carrying out their mission. They had hidden their energy well, for the deities of the tenth universe remained none the wiser to their presence.

"I'm sorry for threatening you," Gohan mustered begrudgingly, "And for any upset caused."

" _Zamasu_ ," Gowasu hissed, as the divine being all but beheld the young saiyan smugly, saying nothing.

Zamasu sneered, much to the halflings contempt, "I am most grateful for your apology Destroyer, and in turn may I offer my own condolences."

"Aren't you boys going to shake on it?" asked Whis, raising an eyebrow as the teenager gaped at him.

"Fine," Gohan muttered under his breath, holding out a hand for the Kai to take.

Zamasu obliged, smirking as he clasped his hand with his own, his grip like a vice. Stronger than he had expected even. Gohan glared back, tightening his grasp so much so that a crackle of energy jolted over their knuckles. It was as though the two junior deities were trying to break the others fingers.

"Well now, isn't that better?" Whis practically sang, prompting the pair to rip their hands away, still glowering at one another.

"Strong grip you've got there," Gohan observed, though the ever calm Zamasu refrained from saying anything on the matter.

"Ah yes, young Lord," Gowasu nodded proudly, "Zamasu here is a fine fighting prodigy, some say the best that all twelve Kai realms have produced thus far."

"Is that so?" Lord Beerus quirked, his lips twitching upwards, "Then I'm certain that my own prodigy would be a sufficient enough challenge for him, wouldn't you agree?"

The teenager whirled around to face him, as Zamasu too looked rather taken aback by the suggestion, "Lord Beerus, what -?"

"What say you apprentice?" the Destroyer spoke over him, successfully staring out the Kai in question, "Your Master deems you capable of having achieved a fighting power like no other Kai before you. My junior has already apologised to you and therefore the point of our visit has ended all too abruptly when we have travelled such a long way, why not humour your guests by sparring with him? I must say that I'm… intrigued by this strength of yours."

"Master?" Zamasu mustered uncertainly, looking towards the yellow-skinned Supreme Kai who seemed rather bewildered, but smiled all the same.

"Well I don't see what harm a friendly spar could do," said Gowasu, speaking more firmly as his successor opened his mouth to protest, "It would be an excellent opportunity for you to build bridges with your fellow Gods Zamasu, that and enlighten your understanding of the potential of mortals. Think of it as part of your training."

The apprentice sighed, "As you wish, Master."

The tension in the air suddenly grew, thick and suffocating, as Zamasu locked eyes with him once more, a snarl evident on the edge of his lips. Gohan's frown deepened, though it was with a sly wink from Whis did he realise that _this_ was the distraction they had been looking for. His mentor didn't want him to apologise in the slightest, no, he wanted him to fight Zamasu, suitably diverting his senses away from the temple and perhaps in turn reveal his true fighting nature.

And _oh_ , was the young Destroyer going to exploit the opportunity for all it was worth.

He smirked back at the awaiting Zamasu as their fellow deities sprung back, giving them the entire meadow to spar upon without interruption.

"Don't look so worried Zamasu," Gohan goaded, causing the Kai to growl, "For a _superior_ being such as yourself, sparring with me should be a piece of cake! Though I must ask that you don't pull your punches now, I want you to go all out."

"Mind your uncouth tongue - !" He spat, before Beerus shouted over to them.

"You'd better do as he says Kai," the Destroyer said dangerously, "If you hold back then he might just kill you."

His eyes widened slightly before a fierce glint appeared within them, prompting the young saiyan to grin.

"Like I said," he smirked, "No holding back."

Then, it was as though a bomb had gone off. Gohan's golden aura exploded around him instantaneously, pure power rippling over the emerald grass and sweeping over the Kai's sacred world. His long hair stood on end, swiftly turning golden as the long mass of spikes struggled to be tamed by the gold clasp at the base of his neck. The sky darkened, heavy black clouds cascading over the planes as lightening bolts struck the air before intermingling with the flaming aura that pulsated around his muscular form. His veins surged with adrenaline and power, lightening bolts snapping at the air like a cobra as he opened his eyes, revealing shining emerald orbs that hardened at the Kai before him.

"H-He - he transformed!" Gowasu gasped in disbelief, his eyes boggling at the sight of the now golden-haired Junior Destroyer.

"Yes, this is a form that Lord Gohan calls super saiyan two, a highly ascended form beyond the first transformational state of a super saiyan," Whis explained brightly, "And although there is in fact another level beyond that, this is his favourite."

"S-super s-saiyan?! B- _beyond_?!" The Supreme Kai of the tenth couldn't quite get over the power that continued to send shockwaves over the valleys, blowing back their garbs so that the cloaks whipped in the fierce gust of wind he was creating, "That power is… well it's unbelievable quite frankly! And just how long do you say you have been training him?"

"Eight years in total," The Angel informed him, as Lord Beerus looked on rather smugly, "He has spent five years under the role of a Junior Destroyer. Though he actually achieved _that_ particular form before he came to us, it was already incredibly strong even then, but as you can see even more so now."

"I-I see," Gowasu blinked, picking his jaw up off the floor, "My Gods, who knew that a mortal, a boy at that, could have achieved such power."

"Not to worry Kai, I'm sure that your apprentice will try his best," said Lord Beerus, chuckling to himself as he fixated his gaze back on the fight at hand.

Zamasu, to Gohan's delight, appeared rather stunned by the transformation also. Though the halfling gave him no time to recover - nor power up, as he kicked off from the ground in a flash of golden Ki, aiming a devastating blow straight to the corrupted menace's nose.

A sonic boom rocked the meadow, upheaving the grass and dirt from underneath their feet. Though now, it was Gohan's turn to be shocked, his emerald eyes widening as Zamasu's outstretched hand grasped his fist, clutching it tightly and halting the halflings attack in its tracks.

"What the - ?" Was all he could muster, before he found himself being tossed over his opponents shoulder, though quickly phased out before he hit the ground.

He reappeared high above Zamasu, though it was apparent that the Kai had locked on to his energy quickly, as a sizzling hot Ki blast hurtled towards him. Gohan yelped, as the ball of energy whizzed right between his legs, careening off into the distance before exploding in a brilliant shower of light.

"Oi watch it!" the teenager snarled, the inside of his thighs burning. That was _way_ too close, "Unlike you, I actually _use_ mine!"

Zamasu chuckled darkly, another ball of white hot energy materialising in his palm before he unleashed rapid fire on the Junior Destroyer.

Gohan gritted his teeth, knocking away the incoming blasts with ease, dispersing them with a sharp gust of Ki that erupted from his palm before delivering a fast elbow strike to the Kai's gut - who appeared right behind him.

He doubled over in pain, winded by the halflings affliction, coughing up a wad of salvia as the young saiyan followed up in his attack, bringing his palms together and smashing his fists down onto the his skull. His opponent jolted, his body corkscrewing towards the ground before he thrust out his hands, an invisible shield bouncing him back to his feet before he landed.

The teenager raised an eyebrow, he certainly wasn't expecting the apprentice to recover from that. Though he didn't have time to contemplate just how powerful the Kai was as Zamasu growled, low in his throat before propelling himself towards the awaiting Destroyer, their limbs burring in motion as their fists connected once more. The brutal clash of the two junior deities sent tremors back down to the ground below, rocking the entire realm in a display of cataclysmic power. The Gods watched with knowing eyes, their irises following the fight closely, the speed of the pair would have made them invisible to the untrained mortal eye.

Feeling their eyes upon him, Gohan glanced down towards his superiors and then towards the temple - which remained calm and still, parrying Zamasu's oncoming boot away from his head. Though his small lapse in concentration gave the Kai all the opening he needed, and the halfling's head snapped back from the sheer force of Zamasu's fist connecting with his jaw.

They parted, as Gohan shook his head in order to compose himself, his opponent giving him a satisfied sneer.

"It looks as though I misjudged you, Zamasu," the teen said with a sly smirk, wiping the small trail of blood away from his lip and observing the thick crimson liquid that graced his fingertips, "First blood. I'm impressed, you're pretty tough for a Kai."

"And you're deluded if you think that the little divine power you have is enough to stand up to me," he snarled, though confusion crossed his features as the halfling let out a bark of laughter.

"Looks can be deceiving Zamasu," Gohan mused, eyeing his ceremonial garb up and down, "And just for the record, I don't need divine power to beat you."

His eyes narrowed, "What are you - ?"

Though he was cut short, as once again the young Destroyer's energy swelled with power once more. His long golden hair growing even more so and reaching towards his ankles, his eyebrows disappearing and his features hardening. More jagged, thicker bolts of crackling lightening rippled over his frame as he allowed a loud bellow to escape his chest, before the super saiyan three catapulted towards the Kai like a speeding bullet.

 **BOOM!**

"Holy - !" Gohan spouted, as Zamasu's fist once again clashed with his own.

The Kai's aura, dark and unfurling, erupted around him as their attack met in midair, sending a shockwave over the entire realm. The teenager's bones shook from the force, though it was clear that Zamasu too was struggling against his own might. But at that moment Gohan couldn't focus on just how in the HFIL was a Kai's apprentice - fighting prodigy or not - able to block an attack of a super saiyan three Junior Destroyer, no, because as soon as Zamasu's aura had burst into existence, were his senses assaulted by a crippling amount of negative energy. It was dark, sinister, and eerily similar to Perses, whose Ki had threatened to freeze his insides solid.

 **" _Woah, Whis?!"_** He spoke telepathically, as Zamasu quickly withdrew his arm, following up in his own onslaught, and prompting the young saiyan to swiftly dodge and dive out of harms way, **" _Are you getting a read on this?!"_**

 ** _"Quite,"_** His mentor replied, his serious tone echoing through his mind, **_"Lord Beerus has noticed it too."_**

 ** _"Well?!"_** The halfling pressed, parrying a well aimed strike and booting the corrupted apprentice straight across the face, sending him flying over the plane, **_"What do you think?"_**

 ** _"It is as we suspected,"_** said Whis, **_"There is no doubt that he is the one aiding Perses in his escape - an aura like that rife with so much evil intent. I wouldn't be surprised if he plans to murder Gowasu in cold blood."_**

 ** _"WHAT?!"_** Gohan's eyes widened, as Zamasu charged towards him once more, and the teen had no choice but to phase out of the way of another Ki blast that shot towards him, his long hair whipping about him as he countered with a blast of his own. **_"Are you sure?! How can you possibly know that?!"_**

 ** _"You have noticed it too, my boy,"_** The Angel told him, he seemed rather proud of the fact, **_"That seizing cold feeling your experiencing? You are sensing the murderous intent within his energy. A Destroyer is highly attuned to destructive inclinations, which is why Lord Beerus can sense it also. Of course, it is only natural for a Destroyers attendant to pick up on it too."_**

 ** _"And what about Gowasu?"_** He asked hurriedly, the smoke from his attack clearing before Zamasu sprung from the dust clouds, attacking the young saiyan head on, **" _Do you - argh, piss off you unholy bastard! - do you think he knows?!"_**

He heard his mentor tut at his use of language, before he backhanded the corrupted apprentice across the darkened yellow sky, firing up a powerful Masenko that was swiftly extinguished much to his annoyance.

 **" _I would say that's a negative, Lord Gohan,"_** A new voice popped into his head, belonging to The Supreme Kai, **_"Gowasu is a Supreme Kai like I am, and I don't sense Zamasu's blood lust, only his power."_**

 ** _"Your Destroyer senses are getting better Gohan,"_** Whis praised, **_"I must say that I'm impressed."_**

Gohan puffed and panted, his golden aura crackling around him as Zamasu floated mockingly before him, **_"Well that's all well and good, but I'm struggling to keep up the premise of a friendly spar. So how are we going to expose him before he murders Gowasu? Have you heard anything from Makhai and the others?"_**

 ** _"Not yet,"_** Lord Beerus chimed in, **_"Though you needn't worry. If Zamasu is planning on murdering a Supreme Kai then I'll end his life without hesitation. But even still, we need proof, such an act would - !"_**

 ** _"Yeah, yeah, I get it,"_** The teenager replied haughtily, clenching his fists tightly as he stared down his opponent, pushing the irate God out of his mind.

"Still, I don't think I'm going to get a confession out of him any time soon," he said aloud to no one in particular, his emerald eyes igniting with a familiar fire as he glared back at the awaiting deity, "It looks like I'll just have to beat it out of you."

"Muttering to yourself, half-breed?" Zamasu spouted, clearly amused, "I daresay it'll be long before you'll be chanting a little prayer."

"Is that so?" Gohan snorted, slipping into a flawless stance in midair, "I thought that this was supposed to be a friendly spar Zamasu."

The Kai chuckled darkly, a sadistic glint in his stormy grey eyes, "You and I both know that there is nothing 'friendly' about it - _POWER BALL!_ "

His mouth fell open, as an enormous sphere of black and purple energy grew rapidly above Zamasu's head. The power inside the blast was devastating, and full of the crippling dark energy that he had come to associate with the Kai's Ki. It was like Whis had said, he was out for blood.

He distantly heard Gowasu shriek for his apprentice to stand down, and quickly came to his senses, the ball growing bigger and bigger above him, pulsating with mighty power as he cupped his palms to his side before thrusting them outwards, yelling at the top of his lungs - " _KAMEHAMEHAAAAAAAAAAAAA_! _"_

* * *

 **The Sacred Temple of The Kais, Universe Ten - Moments earlier**

"This is a waste of bloody time!"

"Oh stop moaning Makhai," Eris hissed, her voice echoing over the cold stone walls, the sound accompanying their footsteps as the group traipsed through the sacred temple. "And how many times have I told you to shut that trap of yours?"

"And how many times have I told _you_ that the only thing that shuts this mouth up is those luscious lips upon mine - OW!"

"Children please, can we focus on the task at hand?" Alala sighed, she could just about make out Makhai rubbing his sore head through the dark tunnel they found themselves in, the only light that of the amber torches of fire that sat in brackets that lined the walls. They painted the Guard's dim shadows over the ancient stone floor as they walked, remaining undetected as they delved deeper and deeper into the Kai's temple.

"What task is that exactly?" Makhai scoffed, "All we've managed to do so far is find a bunch of useless old rings and decipher that Gowasu is a briefs man rather than boxers."

"Nobody _asked_ you to go rooting through The Supreme Kai's underwear draw Makhai," Deimos said snidely, "Honestly, do you have no respect?"

"That's a rhetorical question, right?"

Kratos growled from up front with Bia close behind him, "There has to be _something_ in here. We cannot fail this mission, there is too much at stake."

A ripple of power suddenly rocked the temple, causing the teenagers to cast their senses towards the meadow.

Makhai whistled, "Woah, they're really going at it out there aren't they?"

"I'll say," said Alala worriedly, "Gohan's already ascended to his third form, this doesn't look good. Zamasu must be stronger than we thought."

"That or he's just showing off," Deimos snorted, though there was some hint of amusement to his tone, "You know what he's like. Sometimes I think he's more Saiyan than he realises."

Though as another shock of energy quaked overhead, Kratos gave them a rather grim look, "I'm not so sure."

"Well come on then, what are you lot waiting for?!" Makhai chirped up suddenly, racing past them and further down the tunnel, "We've got a God to expose!"

Eris sighed hopelessly after him, "I swear to Zalama…"

"Oi!" the ginger-haired teen called out again from the darkness, "There's a door we here we haven't tried and - holy _crap_ , someones been busy in here!"

Shrugging to themselves, the rest of the Guard hurtled down the dark tunnel and into the small chamber, their eyes widening as they were met with their comrade sitting amongst what could only be described as carnage.

"Oh dear, what a mess," mustered Bia, her golden eyes darting all over the rolls of ancient scrolls and thick text books that were strewn over every surface and the majority of the floor.

It was a small room by all accounts, though were it not for the fact that it had recently been used as a dumping ground, it would have looked as though it hadn't been used in years, perhaps even centuries. Dust covered the worn wooden furniture, though a few track marks could be seen where the dust had been recently disturbed. Thick, winding cobwebs hung from the ceiling, the oak beams holding up the old stone structure rotted and splintered. There was a small window at the side of a disused armchair - the fabric faded and moth eaten, the light barely able to penetrate through the dirt of the pane. Though it wouldn't make much difference as it were, as the yellow sky was currently swirling with blackened clouds from the sheer influx of power that was being thrown around outside.

"Odd," Kratos observed, as Alala crouched down to inspect some of the scrolls on the floor, "It seems as though this room hasn't been used in years, yet these scrolls have most certainly been put in here recently."

"A lot of them are written in the divine language, though most of it is so ancient that even I can't understand it," the young assassin said with a frown.

"It looks like a load of bollocks to me," said Makhai, picking up an ancient-looking textbook and flicking through it, "Nothing but mad scribblings and boring old books."

"Give me that!" Kratos snarled, snatching the thick volume out of his grasp, his eyes widening when he caught sight of the inscription etched in elegant gold writing.

 _The Ancient Book of The Majin: Enchantments For The Dark Arts_

"Bingo!" Alala gasped, "That's our evidence right there! A Majin spell book?! We've got him!"

"No, we haven't," said Deimos, sighing in annoyance, "Even though it confirms some of our suspicions it's still not hard evidence. I read the same book on the Destroyer's world in our old common room, it certainly doesn't prove that Zamasu is using Majin magic to drain energy from Lord Beerus. For all Gowasu knows he could just be researching the dark arts to further inform his knowledge as a Supreme Kai in training."

"He's certainly been researching something untoward alright, I highly doubt that it would be Gowasu who would hole himself up like this," Bia frowned, her fingertips brushing one of the faded scrolls as the others looked on dejectedly, reading something from the parchment, "There are notes here, enchantments for illusion and suspension. But that doesn't make any sense…"

"Yeah and what the hell is this?" Eris spouted in agitation, picking up another worn scroll and reading it aloud, "'Peas and carrots'? Is he writing a shopping list or something?"

Deimos' eyes widened suddenly, "Wait, what did you say?"

"You know what, a lot doesn't make sense on this hell hole of a realm," Makhai boasted, leaning up the wall in a bored manner, staring out of the small window which he cleaned off with the sleeve of his garb, "Greedy gits even have _eight_ moons, I swear that we've only got two, and I thought that all the realms were pretty much the same structurally. I mean, who needs that many moons anyway?"

Deimos gaped, his jaw dropping to the floor, though the others appeared not to have noticed, "M-Makhai, I don't think that they're -"

 **CRASH! BOOM! THWACK!**

He was cut off by the sound of an enormous explosion, followed by a cascade of falling debris as a golden-haired half-saiyan came crashing straight through the solid stone wall. They covered themselves quickly, as a torrent of thick black smoke engulfed them, leaving them coughing and spluttering as the dust cleared, their gaze settling on the wincing teenager at their feet.

"Ow…" Gohan groaned, pulling himself up from the rubble he found himself in, taking in his surroundings from where he still sat on the floor. His garb was tattered and slightly singed, and he had a trail of blood running down his chin.

Kratos snorted, raising an eyebrow at him, "Having trouble?"

The young Destroyer growled back, allowing Alala to help him to his feet, "He's stronger than he looks!"

"Right…"

"Well, why don't _you_ have a crack at him then?!"

"Um, guys?" Deimos mustered, a roll of ageing parchment in his hand, "You really should take a look at this - "

"I'm a little _busy_ completing my own mission!" The Guardian snapped back, completely ignoring his comrade.

"Oh really?" Gohan scoffed, "Found anything useful yet have you? Because Zamasu is still at large and I don't hear anyone giving the command to destroy him."

The vein in the older teen's temple throbbed, "Why you - "

"Stop this at once!" Bia spouted, enveloping the hot-headed duo in a blanket of calming thoughts, "Your arguing isn't helping any, and we still have a mission to achieve!"

"Yeah not to mention that Gohan's getting his arse kicked out there," said Eris, shooting the halfling a glare.

"Seriously," Deimos tried again, "If you would all just look at -!"

"He caught me off guard!" He protested hotly, his long golden hair falling about his face, "It won't happen again!"

"Not if _I_ was fighting him, I assure you," Kratos muttered.

"Shut up!"

"Look we can all stand around here for hours comparing sword sizes," said Makhai as Alala wrinkled her nose in disgust ' _Ew',_ "But the fact of the matter is that it's time for plan B."

"I might have a plan…" said Deimos, though once again, he was ignored.

"There's a plan B?" Gohan quirked, as the boy shrugged.

"Well no, but we should probably think of one."

"That's what I'm _trying t_ o say, I really think that you should -!"

The young saiyan rolled his eyes, just as an abrupt shout echoed around them from outside the temple.

"Hiding already young Destroyer?" Zamasu's sadistic tone reach their ears, "Pity, where is all that mortal power you promised to defeat me with? I have yet to see anything worthy of my superior divine presence."

Gohan snarled, as Alala looked towards him, "Wow he's really got it in for you, hasn't he?"

"He's a smart fighter," he said with hate in his emerald eyes, starting forwards, "Though it's too bad that the same can't be said for his smarmy _mouth_."

"WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME?!"

They all stopped short, whirling around to face an irate Deimos, who was red-faced and panting from his sudden outburst, the scroll in his hand crumpled from where his agitated grip had threatened to tear it to pieces.

"Deimos, what - ?"

"If you would just _refrain_ from throwing your damned fists around like a bunch of primitive idiots for five bloody minutes, then you would know that I have already come up with a plan to expose this cretin!" He seethed, as the others stared at him curiously.

"Well why didn't you say something earlier?" Makhai spouted with a roll of his eyes.

The ex-hellion growled, before straightening out the parchment and holding it up so they all could see.

"Read this here," he stated, pointing at a note halfway down the page, "At first I thought that it was suspicious, but when Makhai pointed out that this realm had eight moons… well, Zamasu and Perses are certainly up to something, and I think it's a lot bigger than we even imagined."

Gohan gasped, his gaze skimming the divine language upon the scroll, hardly believing what he was reading. The rest of the Guard looked equally flabbergasted, their eyes darting towards the large moons hanging in the sky.

"Wait a minute," the young saiyan gaped, "You're not saying that - "

"If I'm wrong, it'll go south pretty quickly," stated Deimos, "But even so, I know for a fact that those aren't ordinary moons, the magical energy emitting from them is too obvious to ignore. I don't know how Gowasu hasn't noticed, but I think that Zamasu may be using Majin enchantments to manipulate his mind also, or cloud the signal. He just didn't bet on a warlock entering his realm who could sense their power."

"Well shit," Makhai whistled lowly, "What are we going to do now then?"

"I have a plan. If we execute it properly then it'll expose Zamasu to his master almost immediately," he replied, "But it'll require… some rather _dramatic_ input…."

Gohan and Makhai exchanged a wicked grin, the latter letting out a bark of laughter.

"Agent Orange and Radium-223 at your service! _T_ _hat_ we can do!"

* * *

 **The Sacred Meadow, The Sacred Realm of The Kais, Universe Ten**

Zamasu waited, the dust had cleared minutes ago, though there was still no sign of that insolent brat. The force from their combined blasts had sent them both hurtling backwards across the planes, sending the halfling crashing through the temple, but he was certain that the young Destroyer wasn't injured. It was clear to the apprentice Kai that this _Son Gohan_ was packing a lot of power, and in turn was holding back significantly.

Zamasu felt insulted.

It was despicable. _Disgusting_ even, that a mere boy had achieved a power that rivalled the Gods. If he kept this up, then there was no doubt that his divine training would catapult him to new heights far beyond himself. And they certainly couldn't have that.

Oh yes, he would strangle the weed before it had chance to grow. He was certainly a danger to the greater good that they were trying to build. And with what Gowasu was saying last night about the Z-Sword… well, it was certainly troubling.

Still, the boy was brazen and over-confident. And such mortal qualities were oh so easy to manipulate and expose. He would surely meet his end before he even became more than just an annoying thorn in his side. He would see to that personally.

Zamasu smirked, taunting the young half-breed was all too easy, "Come out Junior Destroyer, or are you so crippled by your own faults that you cannot bring yourself to face the image of your maker? Come, atone for your sins!"

Silence greeted him. The air calm and still. Which confused the Kai momentarily, before a sudden amused voice reached his ears.

 _"All_ of them? How much time you got?"

 **WHIZZZZ!**

Zamasu cried out, as he dodged the crimson blast that narrowly skimmed past his ear. Though he had no time to depict just where the white hot beam had come from, as a boot painfully drove its way into his spine, knocking him flying across the meadow before he managed to catch himself.

Whipping around furiously, his steel grey eyes positively glowered at the grinning halfling before him.

"Dirty move!" The apprentice Kai snarled, "How dare you attack a Kai from behind!"

"One of my many 'sins' I'm afraid, " the super saying three sighed mockingly, "Must be my mortality. Mortals _are_ simple beings after all, well, according to you. You see, according to lore Gods are meant to guide them, prompting them to follow the instructions that are given to them. So when I saw that 'kick me' sign on your back, I suppose I just couldn't help myself."

Zamasu's eyes widened, tearing off the parchment stuck to his back which indeed read ' _KICK ME!_ ' in a rather untidy yet bold scrawl.

"W-what the - ?! Just when did you - ?!" he spluttered, positively burning with rage.

Gohan chuckled, tapping the side of his nose cheekily, "What's wrong Zamasu? Don't tell me that a benevolent Kai such as yourself has been bested by one of the oldest tricks in the book?"

"You _insolent_ \- !" He growled, practically spitting, "I'll show you just what happens when you test the patience of a pure God!"

The teenager snorted, "I'm positive quaking in my boots."

His sarcasm seemed to do the trick, as Zamasu's blood boiled over, his dark aura bursting to life as he charged at the halfling with vengeance in his eyes. He yelled, drawing his fist back before it was effortlessly caught by the Destroyer, who smirked wickedly back at him before embedding his knee straight into his sternum.

The corrupted Kai coughed, blood foaming at his mouth as his bones shook from the force of Gohan's attack. The teenager quickly phased out, not giving his opponent time to recover before he continued to drive him back, a sharp knife hand striking him in the jugular before a golden Ki blast blew him away, causing Zamasu to roar in both pain and anger.

"Zamasu no! Stand down! That's enough!" Gowasu's frantic voice echoed around them, as Zamasu came speeding to a halt in the air, an explosive wave erupting around him before he fired himself back towards the young Destroyer, two deadly power balls swirling in his palms.

"YOU WRETCH! I'LL MAKE YOU REPENT OF YOUR ARROGANCE!"

"BRING IT ON!" Gohan yelled back, ready and waiting, his long golden hair whipping about him as his crackling aura roared like an unyielding fire around his frame.

Gowasu was utterly beside himself as the air shook from the force of their connecting blows, "This is too much! This was supposed to be a friendly endeavour, ZAMASU STOP!"

The yellow-skinned Kai looked towards his fellow Gods, who were merely watching the fight with interest. Gowasu opened his mouth in order to plead with them, to get them on his side, to call off this _madness_ for it was quickly spiralling out of control - yet the words quickly died on his tongue as Lord Beerus clapped his eyes upon him.

"Tell me Kai," The cat-like God spoke lowly, causing Gowasu to sweat, "Does your apprentice ever speak of divine justice?"

The Supreme being blinked, as another shockwave ricocheted over the meadow, "I-I, well, yes. It is a part of his teachings. But what does that have anything to do with - ?"

"I see it in the way he fights," said Lord Beerus, eyeing the Kai in question whose irate cackle of laughter reached their ears as Gohan stopped his shin from tearing his head off, "He thinks a lot of himself as a Kai, doesn't he?"

He swallowed thickly, "Forgive Zamasu, he is a still young Kai. He does not quite understand the complexities of Godhood quite yet."

"Oh no Gowasu," the Destroyer said dangerously, his dark eyes reflecting the manic grin that had spread across Zamasu's features as the two fighters sprung apart once more, "I think it is you who lacks understanding."

"You are a _stain_ of filth upon this realm," Zamasu spoke viciously, now suitably bruised and bloodied from Gohan's onslaught, "You sully it with the ridiculous idea that the power you have attained makes you into a true God. You are nothing, _nothing_ but a foolish life-form doomed to see its very own mistakes come into play. The first, swinging your fists at a purer entity, challenging one whose might greatly surpasses your own!"

"You talk too much Zamasu," said Gohan, "But you should know this. That wherever there is evil, there will always be someone to rise to take it down, whether God or mortal."

The apprentice Kai scoffed, as the teenager continued, "So do me a favour and go and tell your boyfriend Perses that little tidbit, will you?"

He watched carefully, as the deity's lips drew into a sinister sneer, " _Grasping_ at straws are we now?"

Zamasu snickered darkly, as Gohan frowned, "You have no idea what you're talking about you primitive brat. You have no idea of the paradise that I am helping to rebuild. The will of Gods is a very powerful thing. And my will is _just_ and my will is the world. My will is a power that you know not."

"Oh really?" the young Destroyer grinned suddenly, causing the Kai's features to darken, "Because I think you'll find that _our_ will is equally as powerful as your own."

Zamasu blinked in confusion, "Our?"

 **BOOM!**

Gohan leapt quickly out of harms way, just as the surface of a gigantic moon burst through the atmosphere, hurtling towards the meadow with such force and fury, did Zamasu all but gape at the oncoming sphere before it slammed into his form.

Lord Beerus shrieked in horror, "What the HELL are you doing boy?!"

But his words were lost on the air, as a torrent of raging winds engulfed them. The entire realm screamed in protest, as the weight of the moon crashed into the meadow, causing long jagged cracks and crevices to splinter the ground apart. The sky darkened considerably more so, the vast yellow air eclipsed by the monumental satellite. A cascade of mud, dirt and grass kicked up like a tidal wave that spilled out across the planes as the moon came screeching to a halt with Zamasu buried somewhere underneath it.

The dust cleared, and the winds settled, just in time for Makhai to jump on top of the moon, bellowing down to the ground below him, "HA! TAKE _THAT!_ "

Gohan joined him, giving his best friend a high five just before a rather grubby and dishevelled Lord Beerus shouted up at them.

"WHO THROWS A _MOON_?!" He roared, seething up at the mischievous duo, " ** _HONESTLY_**?!"

"What is this meaning of this?!" Gowasu coughed, bewildered as he took in the sight of his ruined realm, a flabbergasted Kibito helping him to his feat.

"I-I'm actually not quite sure," said Whis, blinking up at his student worriedly.

"Apologies Supreme Kai sir," a voice belonging to Alala spoke up, the spritely young assassin landing before them, her bow and arrow poised, "But this is only to ensure your safety."

"M-my _safety_?!" He spluttered, anger now replacing his shock as he gaped at the appearance of the rest of teenagers that had appeared in the sky, "I don't understand, just what are The Supreme Guard doing here?! Shin, what in Zalama's name is going on?!"

"I-I -," Shin stammered, realising with alarm that their cover had been blown.

Though he didn't get the chance to come up with an answer, or any excuse as to why his protégées had invaded the tenth realm, nor completely wrecked it by throwing a moon at its surface, as a surge of power suddenly struck their senses and the moon began to quake in place. They watched, as a bloodied, and seething Zamasu emerged from the large crater embedded in the meadow, his heavy breathing the only sound as his eyes glinted maliciously up at the two smirking boys on top of the large sphere.

"Y-you…" he growled, his fingertips sparking with a devastating power that he was just itching to unleash. "I will _butcher_ you for that…"

"Zamasu! Are you alright - ?!" Gowasu started, though was quickly grabbed back by the scruff of his garb, curtesy of Lord Beerus, "U-Unhand me!"

"I can't let you do that, Kai," Lord Beerus told him firmly, his grip unrelenting as he quickly caught on to what was unfolding around him, "Now why don't you direct your previous question at that beloved apprentice of yours? I believe he has much to tell you."

"W-what?" The Supreme being blinked, his gaze darting from his student to The Guard, as Gohan shouted from above.

"Sorry to break it to you Supreme Kai, but Zamasu here hasn't exactly been a model student," the Junior Destroyer quipped, "For you see he has been carrying out Perses' will from beyond The Void, using dark magic to draw power from Lord Beerus and feed it him in order to escape. Not to mention that he's using dark enchantments to cloud _your_ judgement, which caused you to not only trust this despicable git, but marred your senses so much that you failed to realise the true nature of these moons you've got hanging in your atmosphere."

"What are you talking about young Lord?" Gowasu asked, perplexed, "Zamasu told me that he created those moons as practice before he began to create planets!"

Gohan shook his head, a wry smile playing on his lips as he looked towards a horrified Zamasu, "You haven't half done a number on him haven't you Zamasu? Though it still baffles me as to why an apprentice Kai would need to collect them in the first place - "

"Collect what?" demanded Gowasu, "What are you talking about?! Zamasu would _never_ \- "

"Deimos?" The teenager quirked, "Why don't you show them want they've won?"

"NO!" Zamasu roared, panic stricken, as the warlock waved his hands in a series of complex movements, the moon beginning to glow brightly, almost blinding them.

And then, the concealment shattered in a spectacle of brilliant white light, revealing the world eclipsing four-star Super Dragonball in the middle of the Kai's sacred realm, which much resembled the five others that hung in the upper atmosphere.

Gowasu's jaw dropped in disbelief in a similar manner to Shin and Kibito's, as Whis and Lord Beerus looked on with knowing, satisfied smiles. Zamasu was indistinguishably stunned, his wide eyes staring at The Supreme Guard, who suddenly surrounded him, ready to take him down.

His calm and collected demeanour was all but a distant memory, as he positively shook with rage, the fire ignited in his grey eyes full of vindictive intent, "What have you _insects_ done?!"

"Only what needed to be done Zamasu," Gohan smirked triumphantly, landing right before him, his crackling aura whipping at the air as he slammed a fist into his open palm, "And now, it's time for you to confess your sins."

* * *

 _30th April, 2019._

* * *

 _A/N: YAY! Chapter 21 is done and 22 is in the works, continuing with Gohan vs Zamasu. So what did everybody think? I know I threw a heck of a lot at you in this chapter, though I am certain that some of your questions will be answered in the next chapter! So EXCITING! Really hope you enjoyed it, now onto the reviews!_

* * *

 **Reviews:**

MadmanJrs: thank you so much! so happy you liked the Gohan/Videl love scene! Absolutley I really wanted to have Gohan just throw caution to the wind, cuz lets face it he does it a lot in his earlier character in the series, and it is still very rife with this version of Gohan! Yeah I gave a little recap of Perses at the top of this chapter so I hope that solidifies some of your thoughts! Yeah Goten can really become a boing character - much like in super, I mean he's cute but he is basically a mini Goku with no depth. So I really wanted to give him some. There will be much more of Goten and his feelings coming up! I am planning on a big girl power scene - it will be epic!

Leafeon12: thank you! glad you enjoyed the fight scene, and yes Gohan is in trouble :P

Guest: thanks! I get A LOT of movie inspo!

Naite-Laef : thanks so much! hope you liked this chappy too and the wait was worth it!

Guest : thank you! glad I managed to get Gohan across with his feelings, got to love a bit of angst!

FireEmblemMaster101: teehee gotta love Gohan's trash talk, I love writing him like that cuz he can be so dorky with it too! glad you enjoyed the fight too! and thanks so much you are so kind for saying that! I really hope you liked the supreme guard interactions in this chapter. just writing it really makes me want to do a little mini spin off! maybe when this epic story is finished! :P

romanovascap: yay for gohan and videl! super saiyan God will be coming up I promise, wont be long now!

Aaron Leach: thank you!

KeynoRoyal: oh bless you thanks so much! Yeah I really wanted to have Makhai, his best friend calling him out on it, when your best friend is telling you that something his wrong then its probably a bad idea! But of course he went and broke the rules anyway, because its gohan and he cant keep himself out of trouble! :P and yay so happy you enjoyed the rest of the chapter. I hope this one gave you much more ideas for art! :P

Knightwing20042 : itll become clear i promise!

Chosen To Die : hope you enjoyed it hunny! xD Answered via PM.

Marbbles123: eek thank you so much! glad you enjoyed Goten's POV and Gohans heartbreak, sob! Mass extinction will be making another appearance YAY! and happy that you enjoyed the perses reveal! ahhh so exciting, i loved writing that part so it makes me very happy that you enjoyed it!

Hek'UnnSkipper: thanks! im glad you like the OCs and hope you enjoyed their interactions in this chapter! yes negative emotions with drawing out the Hakai is still a thing, and there will be more of it in coming chapters, with more explanation as to how it all goes down! teehee yeah I did draw out the fight scene because I really wanted to exhibit Gohan showing off a little. much like in this fight where he taunts Zamasu, i mean its supposed to be a friendly spar so he cant exactly go all out!

Green Medley: YES for passion! I am much more of an emotional writer than a 'sexy' one I suppose, although I did want to exhibit a bit of cheekiness here which comes about from Gohans confidence, so I hope you enjoyed that. It sounds mean, but i am so glad that you are unsettled by Gotens thoughts, because its exactly what I want you to feel! This will be further explored in upcoming chapters. but you are totally right, your parents love you both Goten! bless his little heart. Haha who can say but me in regards to Pan? Well I am keeping my mouth shut xD Gohan deffo deserves some happiness, but he still has his duty, and like Kibito said last chapter, nobody said that it would be easy... I certainly needed a breather, and absolutely after this one too! haha but the next chappy is already mapped out, it just needs writing!

Guest : the long review you left. just WOW. wow! did you enter my mind or something?! you completely blew me away. your review was fantastic and it gave me goosebumps and I LOVED IT! 'Gohan the Destroyer is, in truth, a Protector. Those who would help others will receive his aid, those who would harm meaninglessly will receive his ire. And the Gods, who have long lived above the mortal realm, observing, judging, but never guiding, will see the foolishness of their actions laid least, that's where I suspect you're taking this. With a heaping helping of Gohan and Videl. She will help to ground him, when he will need grounding the most. Because that's what love does. It gives us a reason to come back, to never quit. To find new strength.  
Strength enough to bring down the Gods.' THIS. ALL OF THIS. YES!

Cyrax Mustard: thank you so much!

DragonMasterFlex: thank you so much for your review! oh ho! this is getting juicy!

romeroFan : thanks! i hope you liked the sprinkling of gohan and videl at the start of this chapter also! ah I can confirm that no, Perses did not become an angel or wish for the power of one... good guess though! xD

Lawrence HBain: no problem for bowing out here, its not everyones cup of tea. Though Im a little confused at what you think will happen that'll ruin it if you havent read it yet?

ericsofly2 : thank you for your review, glad youre enjoying the story. Yes videl becoming an angel hasnt been done, and its a cool idea, but it really wouldnt fit in my story I dont think. Mainly because Gohan being the only one of the z-gang with divinity and having to leave videl is such a monumental struggle and such a big deal. i feel as though itll dumb down the impact of it all. and making videl a divine entity just because gohan is in love with her is too easy :P im not making it that easy for him! haha

X3runner: no worries! thanks for your review! yay glad you liked the fighting! i dont think i am going to have Gohan learn the kioken mainly because its a Kai technique and he is the opposite. he already has the energy of destruction after all. happy that you liked the Goten pov and that i managed to get his feelings of feeling overshadowed by his sibling across! yay! absolutely, the SSG will be amazing!

blazestarre : hey thanks for your review! glad you enjoyed both of the chapters! ah yes Im so glad you noticed Gohan's awkwardness, I really have tried to be inkeeping of his character, which is sometimes difficult to do with him being a destroyer now - he is certainly more confident! Yes I think the z-sword was a bit more of a 'rumour' as such, but obviously since Gohan has unknowingly paraded it around the rest of the Gods everyone is like 'ooooh' and zamasu has now picked up on it too! uh oh! Gohan is certainly starting to doubt things, which is very troublesome, though at the moment he is still trying to stay true to Whis and Beerus and therefore his duty - with the exception of falling in love with a mortal of course, but hey he cant exactly help that! He is hiding something BIG from both sides, which ultimately will have consequences that you will see in upcoming chapters - i swear I am just as dramatic as this Gohan haha Yes I really wanted to do the opposite to Goten and Gohans relationship in this story. I mean, they havent really met each other but both feel left out, replaced and jealous of one another. It is very difficult for both brothers at the moment! Though fun to explore their feelings! The whole scene with Gohan and Videl, I wanted to be fast and intense and passionate - so the conflict I really didnt want to carry on for long like you said. Both teens are stubborn and hotheaded, fierce and slightly insecure in their own rights, which I really hope I managed to portray. I hope you liked their interactions in this chapter too! Youre right, it would be very difficult for Gohan to just pass on his job to someone else, and at this point, would he even want to?

ToughChicken: thanks so much! haha a lot of the time when I was Thor I think of this version of Gohan!

Thomas-The-TMC : thank you :)

dolguldur : thanks!

sigmakleim: thanks for your review! Sorry that you feel as though the Gohan/Videl is out of sync here, Im not sure if you feel like it is rushed? as I did want it too come across as fast and intense sort of thing. anyhoo im glad youre enjoying the rest of the story regardless!

Iwik: its not totally obvious what perses has wished for. though maybe you get more of an idea from this chapter? to be honest, ive probably just given you more to think about! lmao! thanks for your review, its great to see you keep coming back! and oh yes Videl has Gohan wrapped around her little finger! poor poor boy.

johndoe86: interesting theory, techically I suppose she would be if that happened as Gohan is techically a god

o- Nyx -o : Answered via PM. really hoped you enjoyed this chapter lovely! :)

dx-1118: thanks so much for your review! glad you enjoyed Gotens thoughts on his brother, more to come on that! and yay hope you liked the Guards shenanigans in this chapter too! glad you liked the gohan/videl passion, im really not one for writing lewd scenes, so happy that came across well! you picked up on a lot that ive actually wrote for this chapter, hope it solidified your thoughts and you enjoyed it!

Princess Rose Lily : haha wait and see!

Declan Campbell : LOL Goten lifting the z-sword to piss off veggie would be GOLD. I will be exploring more of Goten and Gohans relationship so stay tuned!

I'mAAnimeMaster: thank you! i hope you liked this chapter too!

Guest: yes it was from fantastic beasts!

HeartlessAlpha: makhai is totally right! I really wanted his bestie to be the one to call him out, making the whole situation of gohan/videl more poinient. I agree with you, this is bigger than gohan and bigger than videl. I want to make the story tragic in this way, so in a way im not really pushing the pairing. it is happening and it cannot be, adding to Gohans heartbreak which will in turn fuel is actions.

time-twilight: thank you!

Guest: he is not in for a fun time haha

Cryptic Saiyan: OMG your review actually made me snort! lmao. thanks for that! Glad you like the english lingo! xD

Erin : THANK YOU for this! haha glad you got where I am going with the whole Gohan and Videl romance and the conflict with his duty. I agree not every action movie/book is just pure action, the best ones do have romance and humour dotted around as well! :P Im glad that you enjoyed this chapter and that it helped your train journey! SO HAPPY that you enjoyed the passion, sex scene are so difficult to write its insane so im glad that i managed to do it justice in a non creepy but passion fuelled way! ahh yay the emotions, the foreshadowing - you just GET IT! Thats great to hear! I get you with the whole birth control/unrealistic thing. I'm trying to make it as realistic as it can be with being dragonball - I actually work with pregnant ladies so I totally understand how it works and wouldnt want to do something that goes against what I know haha. As you can see at the beginning of the chapter, more sexy times are being had, there is no way Gohan would lie naked next to a gal like Videl and not go for it. They are in LOVE damn it haha. and he does have three weeks left... ;) yes, i do hope youre looking forward to more conflict with Perses. as you can see from this chapter, shit is about to go DOWN. hope youve enjoyed it lovely!

JdbsjakfbskXbcb: I have deleted this story for now, sorry! but I will be rewriting it xD

Liltye504 : yes the artwork is brilliant! what an amazing artist! yes but chichi also has dark eyes, so ive put Gohan as having more of chichis eyes than Gokus. I wanted him to have features from both of his parents, making chichi more relatable to him. his stubborness in this story certainly comes from her!

Ashaeii: thanks so much! glad you like the superhero movie references! have you seen endgame yet?! cuz OMG was epic!

anarion87: thank you!

: thanks for reading and reviewing! hope you enjoyed this chapter too!


	22. Where Demons Hide

_A/N: And nearly 27,000 words later (phew) you have a new chapter! Wow I am sincerely apologetic that I havent been able to update this story for nearly 2 months! My aim was that I want to AT LEAST get one chapter out every month. The last chapter was so huge I needed a break from it haha and then May and June have been such busy months for me! Lots of things going on with work and family life, looking at applying for a masters programme (cuz i am crazy) and Ive done some writing in between. It has taken me ages to get this whole battle sequence with lots of twists and turns that I was coming up with as I wrote too so it as become much longer than expected! The next chapter is where even MORE sparks will fly, I absolutely 1000% promise you those of you that are waiting for a certain something *cough cough nudge nudge wink wink* will not be disappointed (i hope!) I want to get my pacing right with this story, however I dont want to rush it either, I needed to build my characters and scenarios so that when things happen there is such a huge reasoning behind it and it will make it even MORE spectacular._

 _So yes I really really hope you enjoy every inch of this chapter. It took me so long and I have really worked hard on it to deliver the best quality as I possibly could to you fantastic readers! Big shout out to my fabulous friends Chosen To Die, Nyx and KeynoRoyal for keeping me sane and all of your support! Lotsa love for this chapter, and it is all dedicated to you three, as well as you wonderful readers! Thanks for all your amazing love, support and reviews! :) Keep smiling and enjoying!_

 _ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Two**

 **Where Demons Hide**

 **xxxx**

 **The Sacred Realm of The Kais, The Sacred Temple, Universe Ten - A few minutes earlier**

"…so I bust in, BOOM! Chuck a dragonball right at that smug bastard's face, we all surround him and then Gohan says - "

"It's time to confess your sins," Gohan finished, as Makhai bounced on his tiptoes with unbridled glee.

"YES! That sounds _so_ badass!" He swooned, shaking his head in awe, "How do you come up with this stuff?"

The young Destroyer shrugged, failing to hide the smile that tugged at his lips, "I dunno, don't you think that it's a bit _too_ showy?"

"Not at all!" His best friend implored, "If anything I'd say that you could go a little bit further, maybe end it with a swear word. How about this? 'It's time to confess your sins motherf-!'"

"Enough!" Kratos growled, causing the pair to look towards him, "We've wasted enough time on this nonsense! Who _cares_ what you say to him? The point is that we need to apprehend that menace before he can cause any more damage to the cosmos!"

"How dare you," Makhai spouted, amber eyes narrowing at the taller teen, "Gohan worked really hard on coming up with that line - "

"It doesn't _matter_!" He shrieked, as the others sighed hopelessly. Arguments like this were a regular occurrence on missions after all.

"Of course it matters Kratos!" The ginger-haired Guardian scoffed, folding his arms across his chest in defiance, "Deimos said that he wanted dramatics didn't he? We've got to stick to the script. We'd look like right idiots if we fluffed up our lines - "

"It's not a _bloody_ performance! This very well may end up as being a fight for the fate of the universe!"

"Exactly," argued Makhai, seemingly oblivious to the large vein visibly pulsating in his comrade's temple, "Which is why Gohan and I are taking it _very_ seriously. Though I wouldn't expect _you_ to understand. Honestly, it's a wonder how you ever managed to become such a notable soldier when you were alive, I bet you bored your opponents to death before you even got chance to throw a punch."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Kratos roared, as Gohan, Alala and Eris snorted not so subtly, trying and failing to hide their laughter behind their hands.

Bia and Deimos however, did not look so amused.

"Can we just hurry up and expose this wretch?" Deimos drawled, rolling his eyes as Bia gave her friends a disapproving stare, "I'd like to get this mission over with sooner rather than later."

"Yeah only 'cause you're still half plastered," Makhai muttered.

"It was _your_ fault!"

"As much as I'd love to see the two of you gang up on this idiot," Eris interrupted, stepping in between the pair, and ignoring Makhai's subsequent comment (" _Kinky!"),_ "Deimos is right, let's get a move on before Zamasu gets fed up of waiting and decides to level the scared temple whilst we're still in it!"

"Fine whatever," he huffed, tossing Gohan the ' _kick me_ ' sign that he had made earlier, "It's show time Radium-223."

"I meant to ask you earlier," Alala quirked, as the halfling tucked the parchment into the pocket of his garb, "Why Radium-223?"

"It's a radioactive isotope," The teenager smirked smugly, rather proud of the codename he had come up with, "It destroys **cells** _._ Get it? Because _I_ destroyed _Cell_? Cool, huh?"

"Yeah that and he was fed up of being called Sergeant Sparkles for years on end, remember?" Makhai jested, as the others snickered at his expense.

Gohan glared back at him in annoyance, "Just get into position already."

* * *

 **The Sacred Meadow, The Sacred Realm of The Kais, Universe Ten - The present**

 _"And now, it's time for you to confess your sins."_

A tense silence drifted over the sacred realm as the young Destroyer's words hung in the air. Zamasu's right eye twitched, glaring daggers at the halfling as Makhai fanned himself in the background.

"Chills," he breathed out in adoration, "Literal chills."

"Oh spare me," Eris drawled, rolling her eyes at his display.

"Shh!" he hissed, "You're ruining the moment!"

"Yeah I've got to admit, it didn't sound as cool as it did earlier," mustered Alala sheepishly, still poised in a flawless fighting stance.

Gohan whipped his head towards them, looking rather hurt, "I-It didn't?"

"Of course it did!" Makhai gushed, intervening quickly, "Don't listen to these amateurs! Keep going, you've got this champ."

The young saiyan smiled back gratefully, as Zamasu spluttered in utter bewilderment, "What are you imbeciles _talking_ _about_?!"

"You know Deimos," Makhai continued, observing the destruction around him and ignoring the flabbergasted Kai, the crater still smoking from where the Super Dragonball had landed and the ground around it completely upheaved, "This plan of yours has actually worked out really well, we should get you drunk more often."

"Shove it!"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP YOU CRETINS!" Zamasu spat, positively seething at their ignorance, "How _dare_ you! How DARE you besmirch these sacred grounds with your lowly - !"

"I'd choose your next words carefully, Zamasu," Gohan interrupted boldly, causing the apprentice to look towards him with venom in his eyes, "And you're in no position to be barking out orders, especially with all the damning evidence we've found against you. Or did you forget about those little scribblings that you've got holed up in the sacred temple? Come now, don't be shy, why don't you enlighten us?"

" _You_ ," he growled, taking a dangerous step towards the halfling, "This is all your doing you revolting creature - !"

"Zamasu!"

The junior deity turned suddenly at his master's call, his anger dissipating as swiftly as it had come, regarding Gowasu almost curiously.

"Zamasu, explain yourself at once!" The Supreme Kai of the Tenth spouted hotly, his eyes wide and frantic, his garb singed and dirt laden. His fellow Kai and Kibito poised themselves beside him in support, frowning deeply at the apprentice. "What in great galaxies are you doing with the divine wishing orbs? A-are you _hiding_ them here? I don't understand -!"

Though he was cut short, by his student's subsequent laughter, cruel and cold, so much so it seemed to freeze Gowasu's words in the air.

"There is a lot that you appear not to understand, _Master_ ," Zamasu said with a sadistic smirk, "Though I suppose that you would have learned about my _further studies_ soon enough. Alas a little earlier than I had planned, no thanks to these miserable interlopers."

Gohan's jaw clenched tightly, though his stance remained unwavering as he stood before the Kai - ready should the evil deity make any sudden moves.

"F-Further studies?" Gowasu asked, a mixture of shock and confusion evident upon his pale features.

The apprentice Kai chuckled darkly, a ghost of a sneer upon his lips, "Why yes, for you see there are a lot of things that you have failed to teach me, things that I believe require paramount attention in order for the cosmos to thrive. Ancient books within the temple walls can only provide me with limited knowledge. But it is no matter, for I have learned all the same of the injustices of the universe that need correcting, of the atrocities that plague the cosmos and of the beings that hinder the rebirth of paradise."

The older Kai's eyes widened in horror, his mouth hanging open as Zamasu continued.

"Oh don't look so unnerved," he said, smirk ever widening, "After all, you have always taught me to strive for knowledge wherever possible. I am simply honouring your teachings, Master Gowasu."

"B-but at what cost?" he asked in a stunned whisper, his voice raspy and tight against the thick tension in the air, stumbling over his words.

"Cost?" Zamasu quirked, "There is no cost as I see it. The eradication of the multiverse is an admirable and worthy sacrifice, imperative to bring about the dawn of another. An endless age that can never be tainted, one universe with only noble Gods of purity and splendour left to rule it."

"Have you lost your mind?!" Gowasu gasped, horrified, as Lord Beerus failed to stifle an angered growl beside him. "How could a Kai commit such malfeasance?!"

"That is hardly the word I would use," he replied in amusement, "For what is so nefarious about cleansing mortal blight and restoring the beauty of creation?"

"Your views are unspeakable," Shin stated finally, unable to contain his anger, "Is that how you justify helping such a wicked being such as Perses? Draining power from the Gods themselves before you murder them? Is creating a new, unbalanced universe how you justify your unholy actions?!"

Zamasu stared, his steely eyes narrowing at the purple-skinned Kai, "Your puny, narrow-minded brain couldn't even comprehend the paradise that Perses and I will strive to build."

" _Perses_?!" Gowasu spluttered, he looked as though he was about to faint, his breathing coming up short, "Zamasu, see reason, surely you cannot be serious about setting that _monster_ free?!"

"We had a hunch that this brat was conspiring with Perses since we first met at Grand Zeno's palace," Lord Beerus informed him, before Zamasu could answer, "I'm sorry you had to find out like this Kai, but it appears as though you were too blinded by his insufferable slobbering to notice his true intentions, and that he was using dark magic to drain my power and feed it to Perses. Correct me if I'm wrong footboy. Though I'm just itching to know _why_ you are collecting the Super Dragonballs, much less how you managed to infiltrate the sixth and seventh universes without my brother and I noticing."

"Perses and I share the same ideals, and the sacred wishing orbs are but a stepping stone on the path towards achieving our ultimate goal," Zamasu informed them with a grin that was borderline sadistic, "Majin sorcery can only take us so far after all, though I must say that it has done a fine service in draining your life energy _Beerus_. It is only a matter of time before your body begins to succumb to the abyss, and as you know, there is no coming back from that."

The Destroyer grit his teeth, the misuse of his proper title solidifying the Kai's disrespect, "You think you can best me, you little -!"

"Zamasu, this isn't right!" Gowasu cried, watery eyes pleading with his student, "How _could_ you?! How could you collude with Perses? The great taboo that forced six whole universes to the brink of their extinction?! And after everything I've taught you. I dread to think what The Grand Minister would say if he found that six of the seven divine wishing orbs were being concealed in the tenth's sacred realm. Don't you realise that the Super Dragonballs are only meant for use by the Gods under dire circumstances, such a thing is _sacred_ -!"

"Quell your ramblings old man," the junior deity spat viciously, "I have not committed any crimes for these are dire circumstances indeed. I cannot stand idly by and watch whilst the cosmos turns to ruin, crawling with the unjust. It is all for the greater good."

"Perses has already used the Dragonballs once before his imprisonment," Shin interjected hotly, "What else could you possibly wish for if he has already been granted a deity's lifespan by the eternal Dragon God? Power? Immortality? The eradication of all twelve universes?!"

The sinister being ginned wickedly, "Oh my dear _idiotic_ Kai, you are so naive. The Divine Dragon may be the ultimate Maker of Dreams, though once again you fail to see the bigger picture as we do. Power will transcend into greatness, and continue long after the reckoning. The Divine Dragon is but a pawn in fashioning this great vessel."

"A vessel?" The Supreme Kai of the Seventh blinked, though the look in his eyes gave away to his fear, "For what?"

"For something far more beautiful than what this pestilent cosmos deserves," He smirked, "And once we have achieved this, we will maintain order by wiping out everything that you have ever known. The Gods will die, the Angels will go out of commission and the rest will be condemned to oblivion, wishing orbs and all, so that not one being in existence will be able to use their power again."

There was a small sound that escaped the silence that followed, as Whis grasped onto his staff more tightly, his features calm yet stern.

"Oh yeah?" Gohan snarled suddenly, breaking through the tension. His fingers twitched and curled inwards, his hands balling up into fists, small bolts of electricity jolting around his knuckles as his temper began to rise, "Not if I can stop you."

"How foolish," said Zamasu, his eyes glinting with mirth, "Don't you realise that even if you fight against us that you are only prolonging the inevitable? For you cannot stop what is about to come. The apocalypse is nigh, and you will perish as you were, your so called bravery misplaced and more so unworthy of the divinity that you so selfishly seek."

"Watch your tongue - !" Alala growled, aiming her sharp arrow point towards the Kai's head in warning.

"Stand down Alala," the young saiyan said in a commanding tone, holding up a hand in a dismissive signal as he addressed Zamasu once more, his emerald eyes hardening, "He can believe what he wants. Though you're even more stupid than you look Zamasu, if you think that you can get away with running your mouth like that when we've got you surrounded."

"So self-assured," the green-skinned God taunted, "It'll be your downfall Son Gohan."

"What's that?" Gohan called mockingly, "I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of you being a hypocritical prick."

Makhai snorted next to him, stifling a laugh, as Zamasu's lip curled into a snarl, opening his mouth to retort when Gowasu's voice cut across the decimated planes once more.

"Zamasu _please_!" He cried desperately, though, his pleas were lost on his student, "It doesn't have to be this way! It is not too late to right these wrongs! We can find the last wishing orb, reinforce Perses' bonds and put this whole mess behind us - !"

"I think not," Lord Beerus stated harshly, glaring out the Kai, "Zamasu will stand trial before the Divine Council for his actions, and serve punishment accordingly. If he tries to run, myself or Lord Gohan will seek to Destroy him."

Gowasu's lip trembled, though he remained silent, staring out at his apprentice almost longingly.

"Even if you manage to Destroy me, our plan will still come into fruition," Zamasu said vindictively, no fear of extinction evident upon his collected features, "Perses and I share the same goal, and I have aided him accordingly. We shall not fail. Our cause is true and divine, our cause _is_ justice."

Makhai scoffed, "That was almost poetic if you weren't such a raging pair of fucking psychopaths."

"MAKHAI!" Kratos roared in warning, just as a razor sharp blade of Ki cut through the air and hurtled towards him.

"Yikes!" The ginger-haired Guardian yelped, swiftly jumping into the air out of harms way as a long, stretching shockwave of energy swiped directly under his legs.

Gohan breathed out a sigh of relief before glaring daggers at Zamasu, whose right forearm was engulfed with a light purple energy blade. Had it been anyone else but the quick-footed Makhai caught off guard like that, the teenager was certain that they would have been cut in half.

"You will be the first sacrifice towards the new world for your cheek," the corrupted apprentice spoke viciously, raising the blazing arm up once more and taking a step towards the boy, "And I promise that it'll be _slow_ and **_painful_**."

Makhai's auburn eyebrows knitted together, his features suddenly serious, slipping into his fighting stance instantaneously, Gohan and the other members of The Supreme Guard quickly following suit.

"Zamasu, stop this at once!" Gowasu called out again, his strangled cry reaching their ears, "Stand down! You are no match for all of them!"

The sound of his master's constant pleas seemed to push the amoral menace over the edge, as he whirled around positively screeched, " **SILENCE!** "

And then it happened before any one could blink.

The dark torrent of midnight energy erupted from Zamasu's palm, pulsating with a devastatingly murderous amount of power, it careened straight towards the Gods standing on the edge of the decimated meadow, where it exploded in a calamitous display of blackened smoke and violet light.

 **KA-BOOM!**

The Supreme Guard gasped, as Zamasu smirked with delight. Though his victory was short lived, as the smoke began to dissipate, and Gowasu and his entourage were left completely unharmed. The former had fallen to the ground out of shock, blinking up at the golden haired teenager standing before him.

For there, amongst the black clouds and falling debris - was Gohan. His emerald eyes inured like steel as he unashamedly burned with rage. The golden glow of his super saiyan two form - the fastest and more agile out of his three transformations - hummed over the meadow, the dazzling light reflecting in gigantic orange orb of the Super Dragonball, along with the ones still hanging in the atmosphere, bathing the entire realm in a bright hue of yellow light. Lightening bolts clashed and rippled over his muscular frame, a stubborn bang of hair wavering over his eyes in defiance, as if daring the ever devilish Zamasu to just _try_ and take another shot.

The young saiyan could feel both Whis and Lord Beerus watching him intently. He knew full well that his superiors could have intercepted the oncoming blast with ease just as he had, though he wasn't about to let Zamasu get off the hook so easily. Oh yes, for all the crimes he had committed thus far, as well as dishonouring him and taking a swipe at his best friend, Gohan would be the one to take the evil bastard down. If he wouldn't submit to a trial before the Gods willingly, then the halfling certainly had no problem in eliminating him from existence. Though he knew that the destruction of Gods, junior or otherwise was not to be taken lightly, and as such was frowned upon if carried out without sufficient trial.

All that mattered now though was that he had to apprehend him, and fast.

He gritted his teeth irritably, as Zamasu's mocking laughter reached his ears once more, "There's no need for impatience _my Lord_ , you will get your turn soon enough."

"Why don't we go right now? Just you and me," the teenager glowered, "Unless you're too scared that is."

"Zamasu…," Gowasu whispered behind him, speaking as though the corrupted deity could hear him. The Supreme Kai was clearly struggling with himself, still reeling from the shock of his student's attack, as he was helped shakily to his feet by Shin and Kibito. "No… for the Gods sake, he'll _kill_ you if you indulge him."

"Are you done pleading with him, Supreme Kai?" Gohan asked coldly, his authority ringing true as the yellow-skinned God nearly jumped right out of his skin, "'Cause I'd like to get to fighting now."

Though the young Destroyer did not wait for an answer, kicking off from the ground and launching himself at Zamasu like a speeding bullet taking to the air, leaving a speechless Gowasu in the dust.

 **CLASH!**

Their fists connected, blowing the ground away from them in a shower of falling mud and grass, that quickly crumbled to ash from the sheer output of power that was being thrown around. The Supreme Guard jumped away from them quickly, firing themselves high up into the soft yellow sky that was quickly darkening from the effects of battle, the sizzling hot Ki threatening to change the weather.

"Yeah get him Gohan!" Makhai hollered from above, as the halfling's boot connected harshly with the Kai's jaw, snapping his head back on impact, "You're a _real_ man now!"

" _MAKHAI!_ " The teen roared, parrying Zamasu's subsequent barrage of fists as the junior Kai quickly recovered from his attack - much to his annoyance, " _Shut up_ will you?!"

The ginger-haired Lethien held up his hands his defence, as the rest of the Guard looked between the two boys in confusion.

Gohan sighed in exasperation, though before he could scold his best friend further for his tactlessness, he was met with a sickening blow to his gut - curtesy of his opponent's knee. The teenager coughed up up a wad of blood and saliva, his anger building even more so before he jolted his head forwards, meeting Zamasu's skull with a crippling head-butt and following up with a golden ball of Ki to his chest.

The apprentice Kai was knocked backwards through the air, speeding across the sacred planes before he managed to catch himself. He snarled angrily, a trail of sticky purple blood now pouring from the centre of his temple. It made him look even more twisted, as the droplets trailed down his nose to his lips, where he licked them clean. His garb was torn and singed, exposing his well-toned torso that had a sizzling, purplish burn etched upon the once pristine green skin. His cold, calculated stare regarded the golden-haired Destroyer from a distance, the four star Super Dragonball resting between them in the middle of the meadow.

"You _miscreant_ ," he seethed, "You dare to defile the face of a God!"

"Oh I dare," the young saiyan glared, another lighting bolt snapping at the air like an angry cobra as it intermingled with pulsating aura, "And I'm about do to a whole lot more."

Zamasu quickly crossed his arms in front of his face, as Gohan attacked. Though the punch was so powerful that it easily smashed through the Kai's guard, clocking him straight in the chin and sending him flying backwards until he careened to a halt. But the halfling did not give the wicked fiend time to recover, as he was already upon him, parrying his swinging fists with ease before following up with a sickening bombardment of kicks and punches.

The Junior Destroyer's speed was seemingly unrivalled, as Zamasu was indeed too slow to block most of his attacks, the vicious onslaught pushing him back. Seething with contempt, the young Kai allowed a roar to escape his chest, pushing his unholy Ki even higher before releasing it in an explosive wave that sent a shock of energy rippling over the sacred meadow.

Though to Zamasu's surprise, it all but blew the half-breed back all but a few paces, before he was upon him once more. Ducking under a deadly right hook, the Kai forged another Ki blade within his right palm - rife with negative energy that assaulted the young saiyan's senses.

Emerald eyes sparking in the purplish glow, Gohan caught the oncoming spear quickly in between both of his palms, just as Zamasu brought the blade swiping downwards towards his head. The teenager grit his teeth, the Kai's energy so full of murderous intent that it gripped at his senses, the freezing cold nearly taking his breath away. He growled, low in his throat as they were locked in a stalemate in midair - with Zamasu forcing more bloodthirsty power into the blade, causing it to grow largely in size, and he was forced to push back to stop it from slicing his head off.

"You think that you're _so brave_ , it's almost touching," Zamasu chuckled darkly, the blood still dripping from the deep gash in his forehead, "Though I suppose that I should commend your perseverance in the face of your annihilation."

"You talk way too much," The young Destroyer snarled, a bead of sweat tickling down his brow as he struggled against the blade, this skin prickling unpleasantly as the heat positively radiated from it in searing hot waves. _Shit_ , _just how strong was this nutter?!_ "Don't you _ever_ shut up?!"

The Kai grinned maliciously, pouring even more of his strength into the attack, his muscular arms bulging, his ceremonial garb ripping from the seams, "Funny, I could say the same thing about you _boy_."

"At least what I'm saying isn't batshit mental - gah!" He paused, forcing Zamasu's deadly arm slightly upwards, his muscles screaming in protest, "Y-You talk as though you're going to destroy everything for some noble cause, when r-really i-it's genocide!"

"Ha!" Zamasu barked, though he was now sweating profusely against the halfling's grip, he was struggling just as much as Gohan was, high winds suddenly picking up around them as they both fought for dominance, "And you'd know all about that, now wouldn't you?"

Gohan's jaw clenched, his eyes darkening as he continued, "Tell me, just how many races have _you_ brought to extinction? How many planets have you eliminated? How many solar systems have you wiped out because you believed that your cause was just?"

The teenager staggered for only a moment, before he shouted fiercely, spit flying into his opponents face, "Fuck you! I had reason!"

"Reason?" Zamasu probed, the blade unrelenting, "Destroyers do not _see_ reason. Just the same way as mortals are too blinded by greed and corruption to realise their mistakes. You and your kind only serve to fuel this brutality, this _stain_ on Creation. So why is it fair for _you_ to pass judgement? Why is it that those born in filth are gifted with the task of cleansing it, when the children of the ancient Gods, born from the Tree of Worlds by which they planted, are fated to do nothing but watch this injustice occur?"

"It's not _cleansing_!" Gohan snapped with venom on his tongue, his arms beginning to tremble, "It's balance!"

"And what is so balanced about a never ending cycle of violence of death?" The apprentice Kai quirked, "Once the mortals destroy, you destroy, thus fuelling this eternal spinning wheel of corruption. Mortals and Gods alike _fear_ you, and fear sparks sin and rebellion, it fuels obliteration. You _Lord Gohan_ , embrace it and embody it. And just like the fear you create, you bring about judgement and **_death_**."

"Y-You're wrong!" The halfling spat, though he was desperately trying to ignore the seizing feeling of guilt that clutched at his hearts strings, tearing at his insides.

Flashes of terrified screams echoed in his mind, springing up from his memory banks like wild fires that refused to be put out. They were the screams of the ones that he tried to forget, the ones who had disappeared into oblivion right before his eyes when he didn't have another choice, their screams dying with them as they were wiped from existence forever, as _he_ dealt the final judgement that went even beyond King Yemma and The Otherworld. Souls that would never pass on, as he brought forth the power that was fuelled by his own guilt and fear, the negative emotions that he only greeted all to readily when he was about to deliver death. Or a fate worse than, even.

Zamasu caught the flicker of guilt in his eyes, which only spurred his taunts further, "You speak of _my_ so called crimes, but what you have done is _far_ worse."

Gohan snapped.

With an unrestrained roar, the teenager surged with power, his hair growing longer and reaching his ankles as he transformed back into the third level of super saiyan. The enormous winds whipped around them as his golden aura increased tenfold before it steadily turned a vibrant shade of violet, unable to contain the sudden rush of rage that threatened to engulf him.

The spike in crippling strength caused the Ki blade to splinter and shatter, before Gohan forcibly kicked Zamasu's arm away from his head and backhanded him across the sky with an unrelenting **BOOM!**

The young saiyan panted as Zamasu took time to recover, his teeth bared in a snarl and the purple aura of Destruction licking at his muscular frame, his dirt-laden blue garb wavering in the air, as he allowed the raging power of the Gods to take over. The negative emotions barrelling through his mind too powerful to stifle any longer. He stared down at the Kai now floating in the air across from him with hatred in his eyes.

Zamasu all but smirked at his display.

"Ah, the famous temper that I've heard _so_ much about," he observed almost gleefully, "I wondered how long it was going to take to see it in it's true fruition."

"You haven't seen anything yet," Gohan growled, "Though if you keep this up then you just might get to."

Though to his further enragement, Zamasu looked amused rather than unnerved, a sadistic smile forming on his lips, "Oh I am counting it. Oh yes, Perses and I know a great deal about you and your hidden powers, Son Gohan. I thought it only proper to find out more about this new Junior Destroyer of the seventh universe when I was searching for the last of the Dragonballs. For I knew that you would no doubt be the first challenge that we would come to face. What I learned a few years ago wasn't that impressive by all accounts, you were just a boy then, only but a few months into your training as a Destroyer. I sought council from the great story-teller and librarian of your universe, Master Zuno, who told me some very interesting facts about you."

"Wow, I'm flattered _and_ creeped out," the teenager quipped, still glaring daggers at the Kai, "It sounds as though I'm going to have to get a restraining order."

The Kai's eye twitched in irritation, before his cruel laughter once again echoed over the planes, "As brazen as ever. It's no wonder that you were condemned to die, both in this timeline and the other."

Gohan frowned, he could see The Supreme Guard floating a ways off out of the corner of his eye, watching the exchange intently, "What the _hell_ are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about an alternate universe of course, one where you were never supposed to become a challenger to our cause. One where your path never set you on the journey towards divinity. Instead, you were supposed to die at the age of twenty-three, by the hands of mortal made destroyers who would lay waste to your home world. But no, that fate was avoided, _changed_ , by a manipulation of the time stream caused by another lowly mortal of your world."

The teenager's eyes widened, he was right after all. Gohan knew all too well of the dreadful fate that his so called future counterpart had been dealt in Future Trunks' doomed world - the time that _should_ have been. He and the rest of the Z-Fighters had all perished by the hands of Doctor Gero's creations, leaving Trunks as the Earth's sole protector. As a boy, it had made the young saiyan all the more determined to put an end to the reign of the androids and save his friends and family all those years ago. But why was _Zamasu_ of all people interested in that? It hadn't effected _his_ universe after all.

His resolve wavered for but a moment, as Zamasu leered, "It's a pity that you do not practice what you preach, half-breed. If anything, it is your mortal friends that threaten the cosmical balance. Tales of Dragonballs, resurrection and time travel - it is a _abomination._ And yet you further this disgrace by besmirching the sacrilege of the Gods and freeing the Z-Sword where every deity before you could not. Why _you_ I wonder? And you wield the ancient blade like a prize, thus proving your mortal arrogance. So tell me, before I smite you for your crimes Destroyer, where is the relic?"

"You're even more cracked than I thought if you think that I'm going to tell you," he shot back, "The Z-Sword chose me, it doesn't belong to you or any other nutcase in the multiverse. And even if you did manage to get your filthy hands on it, you wouldn't be able to lift it!"

He observed him for a moment, before his cold words reached his ears once more, "It does _not_ belong to you, you wretched fool. You know that you were not meant to be. You _know_ that you should have died a most painful and brutal death and watch your dunghill of world fall to ruin from the afterlife! Yet here you stand, a manifestation of the sheer hubris of mortals, a product of corruption who should never have been given the chance to obtain the divinity that you are so unfit to wield. And when I have corrected your existence then I will seek to right the rest of this cosmos, starting with your unworthy, _diabolical_ Earth."

"I'm fed up of your preaching _Zamasu_ ," The halfling mustered snidely, he could feel the searing heat of his fury rippling under his skin, just begging to be unleashed even further, "And if you think that I'm just going to lay down and take your distorted ramblings as gospel then you're surely mistaken. I will never let you unleash chaos upon this realm, or any other."

Zamasu smiled unnervingly, "You speak of chaos as though it is the end of everything. Though in reality it a stepping stone to victory, allowing our goal to develop and grow like a babe in the womb. _Chaos_ is but a precursor to the rebirth of greatness."

"You really are a fucking headcase aren't you?" Gohan deadpanned, prompting the wicked God to smirk, the crazed grin spreading widely over his bloodied features.

"Maybe so to an insignificant mortal mind, but all that will not matter once the beauty of the new world comes to light."

The teenager clenched his fists, a fierce determination in his emerald eyes, "You won't win. I won't let you slaughter hundreds of billions of innocents just for your sick goal."

"Oh," Zamasu quirked, "And are you going to stop me?"

Gohan did not reply, instead he responded by firing himself towards his opponent, the intermingled power of destruction and super saiyan three surging through his veins like hot lightening, sizzling over his entire body in electrifying waves. His fury fuelled his rapid spike in Ki as Zamasu readied himself, his stance strong and unwavering in the air, when suddenly the halfling phased out.

The junior Kai blinked rapidly in alarm, whirling around behind him before he was met with a fierce kick straight to the face.

The resounding **CRACK** informed Gohan that his opponent's nose was quite obviously broken, the forthcoming blood spurting outwards and hitting his cheek. Though he ignored Zamasu's rasping cry of pain, and followed up in his attack, viciously striking his torso in a plethora of crippling blows that quaked the very earth beneath them. Finishing off with a fast knee to his solar plexus - that made the Kai double over in agony, the young saiyan brought his fists together and smashed them into the back of his enemy's skull, sending the Kai crashing towards the ground.

Gohan was _dominating_ Zamasu, that was clear to see, phasing out once more and meeting the deity just before he hit the ground, his outstretched boot colliding with his ribs, fracturing them on impact. Zamasu twisted painfully and rolled, finally hitting the dusty ground and skidding to a halt, upheaving a long line of dirt and debris in the process.

The young saiyan landed before the fallen apprentice with a brutal stare, as he continued to cough up copious amounts of blood and phlegm. Though to Gohan's agitation, his coughing fit quickly turned to laughter - even despite his injures, the dust clouds settling around them.

"Hurry up and bring him in boy!" Lord Beerus shouted suddenly from the sidelines, "Or will I be forced to get my hands dirty too?"

Still seething, and struggling to curb his anger, the halfling held up his right hand in an open palm, fingers pointing towards the sky with his thumb turned slightly inwards. He concentrated a small amount of Destruction energy into the centre of his outstretched palm, causing it to swirl with purple particles in warning.

"Give it up Zamasu," The young Destroyer stated venomously, a dark look encompassing his features, looking like the very essence of an intimidating God of Destruction, the purple hue of his aura almost eclipsing them, "It's over."

"Oh no," Zamasu chuckled again, the sinister tone rippling over the sacred realm, "This is just the beginning."

"What the -?!" The teenager gasped, as a sudden surge of dark Ki assaulted his senses. Though it did not appear to be emitting from the corrupted Kai. Instead, the warped energy seemed to be coming from right behind -

 **BAM!**

Gohan winced in pain, unprepared for the sudden devastating strike to his temple, his head reeling as it was thrust harshly to the side. His aura of Destruction dissipated completely as he recoiled, his vision blurred for but a moment, as he was knocked straight into the world eclipsing wishing orb with a sickening **CLANG!**

He snarled, his eyebrow had split completely open, causing a spillage of crimson blood to ooze over his reddening cheek. Though his eyes widened in disbelief, when he caught sight of what, or rather _who_ had just hit him.

"What the fuck was that for Kratos?!" Makhai yelled from above, "Gohan almost had the git! I swear that enormous ego of yours is just a big shield for the amount of _EMPTY SPACE_ behind it! Now is **NOT** the time to be a diva!"

Though it appeared that Kratos wasn't privy to the boy's outburst, as instead his steely blue-eyed gaze was fixed completely on the wounded half-saiyan. The hardened warrior was breathing heavily as Gohan managed to peel himself off of the Dragonball. Though it was evident that his breathlessness wasn't due to exhaustion, but from the sheer amount of crippling power that coursed unnaturally through his entire being. Kratos' large muscles were bulging even more so than ever, and Gohan could see the thick veins pulsating underneath the taught skin that strained over them. His teeth were bared, gnashing together as a growl escaped his heaving chest.

The young saiyan couldn't help but gulp, as the crazed Guardian's crimson aura suddenly burst to life around his frame, crackling with dark bolts of electricity as he started to drift towards him. And as he drew closer, his gaze honed in on the strange tattoo that had somehow appeared on his forehead.

"This is the last time you will swipe the glory from underneath my feet," Kratos leered dangerously.

"Kratos what the _hell_ are you doing?!" Makhai cried again, "Just let Gohan _have_ this one will you?Stop being a damned princess and get your stupid thickheaded arse back here!"

"Um Makhai?" Alala gulped beside him with Bia, the pair staring wide eyed at the air across from them, "Something's not right."

"I'll say! Kratos' obsession with defeating Gohan has gotten a little too unhealthy in my opinion, honestly it's a wonder I haven't caught him stabbing a Gohan-shaped voodoo doll in the dead of night or something," the ginger-haired teen griped, tearing his gaze away from Kratos when she didn't reply and frowning at the terror-stricken look on her face, "…what?"

The violet-skinned girl all but outstretched her arm, pointing towards the two figures floating before them, both pulsating with dark energy, teeth bared just like Kratos in a manic expression, their ceremonial cloaks whipping about them as their colourful aura's glowed with a staggering influx of negative power.

"Oh _shi_ -!"

"Now what will you do, Destroyer?" Zamasu called mockingly, struggling back to his feet as Gohan caught sight of Eris and Deimos above him, both with the matching symbol of dark sorcery upon their foreheads - the sign of the ancient Majin. "Majin possession latches on to a persons deepest impurities after all, and it appears as though this is rife with some of your friends."

The halfling growled, balling up his fists in anger as he looked towards Kratos who hovered before him, as though awaiting his next command.

"Using mortal magic to aid you, Zamasu?" he spat reproachfully, "Isn't that a bit ' _beneath_ ' you?"

"Once again your arrogance never ceases to amaze me," the Kai sneered, "Majin magic is just as ancient as the Gods themselves. Until my ancestors foolishly allowed mortals to abuse this power and make it their own. In time, the mortals turned it dark and corrupted for their own selfish gain, hence why the Kai's have an aversion to such magic. But you see, there has not been a Kai for many millennia with the strength and mental prowess to master it, until now. For you see, there is no other Kai like me."

"You can say that again," Gohan muttered dryly, as the sound of Kratos' haggard breathing continued to fill the air.

Even though his eyes were glazed over, the teenager could still depict the murderous intent within them. Kratos may have been granted a pass to The Grand Kai's planet when he had died, unlike Eris and Deimos who were condemned to HFIL for all the atrocities they had committed when they were alive, but he was still an incredibly prideful and somewhat jealous person.

Although Kratos had mellowed out considerably in the time that Gohan had known him - which was saying a hell of a lot by all accounts, it was clear that Zamasu had taken advantage of that fact, given what he had learned about Majin magic from Videl. After all, the wizard who had released Majin Buu had latched onto his father's damning emotions of grief and regret and managed warped it into evil intentions. Perhaps the wicked Kai had managed to do a similar thing with Kratos and his envy and pride.

He winced slightly, looking towards Eris and Deimos who had surrounded Makhai, Alala and Bia, forcing them into a back to back huddle. As much as he loved them, they weren't exactly the most saintly out of the group, and there was no doubt that Zamasu had extorted the evil that still lurked deep within the depths of their hearts for all it was worth.

"Oh don't look so worried!" The sadistic apprentice spouted again in delight, nursing his broken ribs with a bloodied hand and relishing in the tortured look that graced the halfling's features, "I am merely giving you a chance to redeem yourself! So why not do the cosmos a service and wipe this corrupted filth from existence?"

"You _bastard_!" The young saiyan seethed, hatred burning in his eyes, "Change them back! Change them back right NOW!"

"I'm afraid that it isn't as simple as that," The Kai replied with a devilish smirk, "The counter curse is extremely complex. Your only hope now is to snap them out of their possession or destroy them."

"I will never hurt my friends," he replied forcibly, prompting another chortle of laughter to escape the junior deity.

"Then I suppose they'll just kill you instead," He retorted up at him with a smug smile, his eyes slowly drifting to his halo and back again, "Or should I say wipe your pathetic soul from existence."

As if on cue, they attacked. Gohan yelped, catching Kratos' swinging fist right out of the air, struggling against his grasp as his crimson aura radiated like a impregnable heat against his skin. The larger teen snarled, spit flying as he pushed against his grasp, finally drawing his fist back before attacking again.

"Kratos stop this!" he yelled, blocking another punch and leaping out of the way of another, "Snap out of it! I don't want to hurt you!"

"I wouldn't worry about him," Zamasu told him wickedly, "I'd be more worried about yourself if I were you!"

Gohan growled, shouting back to him, " _You'll_ be worried in a minute when I shove my foot up your - ARGH!"

The teen saiyan cried out, as Kratos' muscular leg swung towards him, prompting him to duck and allow the deadly strike to sing right over his head. He could hear the shouts of Makhai, Alala and Bia further away across the darkened yellow skies, trying desperately to crane his neck to check on them as he attempted to dodge Majin Kratos' onslaught.

" _You_ hurt ME?!" the possessed teen seethed, managing to grab a hold of the long golden spikes of hair atop his head as he was suddenly distracted by another cry of agony across the sky.

Gohan winced in pain as his head was forcibly dragged upwards to meet the warrior's gaze, though before he could speak, Kratos cut across him.

"I've had enough of your disrespect," he spoke lowly, though the strain in his voice was harsh on his ears, "You have bested me on every turn, every challenge, snatching up every victory oh so _nobly_ when you don't deserve it. Do you hear me?! You don't _deserve_ to be the next Destroyer! _I_ should be the one to succeed Lord Beerus, not you!"

 **SLAM!**

The young saiyan had no choice but to grit his teeth to avoid biting off his tongue as Kratos slammed his forehead into his. He was seeing stars, as the tainted teen continued to smash their skulls together in rapid succession, warm blood already spilling into his eyes.

"You're too young!" **SLAM!** "Too inexperienced!" **WHACK!** "Too arrogant!" **WHAM!** " _STUPID- !"_

This was _maddening_ , Gohan thought begrudgingly. He was supposed to be fighting Zamasu, not Kratos. And although he really didn't want to hurt his friend, his attack was certainly smarting, and pissing him off even more so. With an internal sigh, he relented, bringing up his knee and ramming it into the big brute's stomach, prompting him to let go immediately and clutch at his midsection in a screeching howl of pain.

The young Destroyer wiped his bloodied face on the hem of his tattered garb, his skull stinging as he stared down at his injured comrade, "I really don't want to have to fight you mate, but if you pull that shit again then next time I'll make sure that I aim a little closer to the crotch _._ "

Kratos glared back, straightening up as he recovered a little more swiftly than Gohan had expected. The older teen's teeth glinted in a manic smile, blood trailing down his mouth, unnerving him slightly.

Then, without warning, a low rumble came from the ground below, causing the Gohan to tear his gaze away from his opponent, just in time to see several deadly spikes of enforced rock erupt from beneath the meadow and fire towards him.

"EEP!"

* * *

Further across the sky, Makhai, Alala and Bia were locked in a similar state of raucous battle, forced back by their twisted comrades as they were torn between not hurting their friends and not being wiped from existence themselves.

"Deimos! Stop this at once!" Bia cried, her golden hair flying about her as she blocked the teen's oncoming blow with her forearm, wincing slightly as she managed to push him off, "We're your friends! You don't want to attack us!"

Though her pleas fell on deaf ears, as the green-skinned hellion followed up in his attack, snarling and spitting as he fired a series of lethal blasts towards her. The blonde beauty countered readily, encasing herself in a silver shield so that the energy balls seeped right into it. It glowed before it shattered, silver particles of light lifting into the atmosphere, and Bia was once again ducking and diving out of the way of Majin Deimos' barbarous fists.

"It's no use Bia!" Makhai called back to her, dodging a disc-shaped Ki attack that whizzed past his head, careening off into the distance where it sliced the peak off a far-away mountain with ease, sending a landslide of rock crumbling down into the valley below, "They aren't listening - OOF!"

The Lethien yelped, as he was met with an uppercut to the gut - curtesy of Majin Eris, before he managed to quickly kick her away from him, "Ouch, and they sure pack a punch! They aren't messing around!"

"Exactly," Alala griped, as the ash-haired Eris recovered in no time and made a beeline towards her, "We need to - argh - fight back seriously!"

She growled, doing just that, phasing out and slamming her fist into the girl's jaw. Though the dark princess did not cry out in pain, instead she all but grinned manically, phasing out and grabbing Alala from behind in a full nelson, before bending her form over backwards, her knee driving deeply in between her shoulder blades and causing her spine to strain and creak from the force. The violet-skinned youngster cried out in agony, the high pitched sound echoing over the sacred planes.

"Alala!" Bia and Makhai chorused, racing towards them just as Alala let out a shockwave of explosive energy, causing Eris to finally release her, knocking her back several feet. Though once again the red-skinned girl appeared completely unharmed, slingshotting back towards them with murderous fury in her eyes.

Using his superior speed, Makhai phased in front of Alala, his fist clashing with Eris' and rocking the air around them. He smirked as the girl glared arduously back at him, her muscles and veins bulging with tainted power before she drew back once more and swiped her leg towards him.

He flipped himself over her, wincing as her boot slammed into his spine from behind, though swiftly regained his senses and charged back towards the manic Majin as her energy continued to grow, her dark aura licking wildly at the air like flames.

 **BOOM!**

The air surged from the force of their combined might, sending a myriad of black and silver lightening bolts rippling across the atmosphere as the pair clashed in midair. Majin Eris was unrelenting, every attack precise and crippling, slowly beginning to match Makhai's speed as the dark curse continued to feed her strength.

"You know Eris," Makhai panted as he managed to pull away from her onslaught for but a moment, wiping a trail of blood away from his chin, "I knew that you liked it rough, but this is just getting ridiculous."

" _Insolent_ _peasant_ ," the dark princess mustered through gritted teeth, "I will make you rue the day that you did this to me!"

The mischievous teen quirked an eyebrow, "Didn't realise that we were using pet names now."

"SILENCE!" She roared, her hands balled up into fists, sparking with deadly power as a fierce wind picked up around her frame, the impending storm positively raging within the depths of her eyes, "I'll make you pay dearly! I will **_slaughter_** you for making me soft!"

"Funny that, 'cause you seem to make me the exact opposite."

"CURSE YOU!" Eris bellowed, her enraged screams intermingling with the high winds. Another cascade of lightening bolts jolted around them, before a twister of blackened energy engulfed her completely. The entire Sacred Realm of The Kais shook from the tornado that swept the meadow, unfurling in a devastating tunnel of destruction, and causing the untainted members of the Guard to gape in horror.

"Damn it!" Alala roared from where she was now caught up with fighting Majin Deimos, booting the ex-hellion in the ribs and sending him crashing back down to the ground, "We have to stop her before she destroys the entire realm!"

"It's awful," said Bia, golden eyes growing in concern as Deimos got back to his feet, a broken white rib painfully sticking out of the gash in his side. Though he seemed unaffected by the damaging blow that his comrade had just dealt him, his aura bursting to life around his enhanced muscular frame before he kicked off from the ground and came speeding towards them once more. "They won't stay down - !"

She was caught off guard, as her ankle was caught in a vice grip by the bewitched boy, swinging her around before sending her careening through the air. She crashed into Makhai with a sickening **THUD** , skulls clashing together and causing their heads to spin.

"You know, something tells me that Deimos is holding a grudge against me for that headache," the ginger teen spouted angrily over the roaring winds, rubbing the sore spot on his head and prompting Bia to sigh. The twister had now completely ripped through the scared temple, shards of glass and ancient stone intermingling with the column of clouds and dark, electrifying Ki.

"We should have listened to him when he was speaking of his ailment a few minutes ago," she said bitterly, surveying the devastation before her, the skies growing as black as night, "It wasn't from his hangover at all, Zamasu was most likely entering his mind."

"That bastard," Makhai spat, punching his fist into his open palm, "He's messed with the wrong Guardians."

"I'll say," Alala called angrily, blasting the irate Deimos away from her once more, "The only way we can stop it is to incarcerate Zamasu. I'll go after Kratos and distract him to give Gohan enough time to take him down. You two stay here."

Bia nodded, "I'll try and calm Eris by feeding her positive thoughts. Makhai, you take Deimos, you only seem to anger Eris further."

"Same old, same old," The boy sighed, before gathering a hot amber Ki ball in the centre of his palm, giving it a fierce throw and hitting Deimos square in the face, "ALALA, NOW!"

Majin Deimos recoiled, coughing and spluttering from the attack, until he turned furiously, now focussed on Makhai. Nodding at her friend, the dark-haired girl made her escape, bow and arrow poised in her grasp as Bia hurtled towards the rampaging tornado in a swirl of silver Ki.

Alala twisted in midair, and took deadly aim several feet below her.

* * *

Gohan yelped, narrowly avoiding the razor-sharp rocks that blew the hair back from his face and flipping himself over another. He whirled around quickly, as even longer, more jagged spikes rapidly hurtled towards him, diving and dodging out of the way of Kratos' devastating attack. The Majin's energy flooded his senses, so much so that it felt as though his mind was drowning from the sheer amount of power he was bringing forth.

But it was warped, twisted, and even though the evil magic had given the warrior a significant boost in strength, something just didn't feel _right_ about it. He could feel it radiating from Deimos and Eris too, whose Ki's he could sense clashing with the others. And worst of all, they continued to _grow_.

The skies were growing even darker from the force and heat of energy colliding with one another. The screams and shouts of his friends - possessed or otherwise, intermingled with the howling tempest that had grown even more catastrophic since Majin Eris had released her tornado-like attack.

This was not looking good.

Majin Kratos roared with manic laughter, his crimson aura blazing, his arms outstretched as he continued to manipulate the world around him. And as Gohan dived under another rampaging spike of death that came screaming towards him, he caught sight of Zamasu below, hovering a few feet off of the ground, a satisfied smirk upon his lips.

The teenager snarled vexingly. He needed to put an end to it, and fast. Now if he could only get away from Kratos and - !

"OI GOHAN! HEADS UP!"

He whipped around just in time, as one of Alala's fierce arrows cut through the air from above. It soared straight past his ear, in between a twin pair of jagged spikes that were already headed towards him. The sharp point tore into Kratos' left shoulder, bursting out of the other side in a cascade of blood and sinew.

The large brute cried out in rage and agony, grasping onto his wounded and broken shoulder, dozens of jagged spikes of rock crumbled in midair, falling quickly to the ground as his concentration was suddenly lost. Kratos glared up at the girl as she shot another lethal arrow towards him, this time the keen head driving straight through his knee cap, causing him to drop several feet in the air, blood gushing from the wound as he roared in pain.

"Alala what - ?!" Gohan gaped at his friend, who was already loading up her bow, her wild black hair wavering about her in the untamed wind of her aura.

She was just as bruised and bloodied as he was, though she flashed him a small smile all the same, "Hurry up and take care of Zamasu, I'll handle Kratos."

"I-I-," he started, as another fierce growl escaped their possessed comrade, ripping the arrows right out of his bleeding wounds and firing himself back towards them, "Bloody _hell_ , they're resilient."

"They'll keep getting up," Alala told him, her features becoming serious, "It's the dark magic. They could tear their body to shreds and the curse will keep them going until there is nothing left."

His eyes widened, a shiver running down his spine. He could not let that happen to his friends. Once the magic wore off - if it ever did - they could all die anyway. And seen as like him, they were already dead… well… he really didn't want to think about it.

"I don't want to hurt him more than I have to," she continued, her bow quivering as she drew back on the taut string, "So you'd better be quick!"

Although he'd rather help out his friend instead leaving her to tackle Zamasu, he knew what was at stake. Brushing off his feelings of loyalty, the young saiyan quickly came to his senses and powered up. He did so fiercely, rapidly. His golden aura now raging against the unrelenting winds as he shot towards Zamasu like a speeding bullet - no holds barred.

Cupping his hands to his side, Gohan charged up his attack as he catapulted through the air. The blue glow of the Kamehameha Wave already building in his palms as he quickly closed in on Zamasu, who blinked in shock at his rapidly approaching form.

The vibrant mixture of blue and gold light reflected in his panicked eyes, and the teenager knew that the wicked Kai was starting to feel the fear and desperation that he had bestowed upon his poor master moments earlier. _Especially_ when he hopelessly shot an enormous power ball towards the halfling, missing him by inches.

"HA!" The young Destroyer cried, as the sonorous sphere of black, electrifying energy flew off into the distance behind him, "Was that supposed to hit me?! Looks like you're getting rusty already ' _oh mighty'_ Zamasu!"

The Kai all but seethed at his mockery, as the teen towered above him, the Kamehameha swirling with a devastating amount of power, "KA - MEH - HAAAA - MEHHHHHH - !"

And just as Gohan was about to release the blast that would surely put an end to this madness, he felt a sharp tug at his navel, his entire body becoming completely rigid, the blue orb dissipating completely within his palms as his legs and arms were thrown backwards by invisible restraints.

Spreadeagled in the sky, he twisted and struggled, only to find that he couldn't move an inch. He gaped in shock and bewilderment. He was paralysed!

"What the - ?!" He started, emerald eyes widening as he caught sight of Majin Deimos hovering in front of him, recognising his _Psycho Thread_ technique almost instantly. It wasn't all too often that the teen had seen him use it, only in severely dire circumstances. Deimos even deeming the technique cowardly at one point, for it quickly drained an opponents energy in the most painful of ways, making for an all too easy defeat. It also cut the ex-hellion's power in half the more he used it, though Gohan supposed that it didn't really matter seen as the power of this Majin tainted Deimos was seemingly limitless.

And just as he had thought it, a cascade of white hot needles penetrated his skin. Stabbing brutally at his muscles and tendons and causing him to bite the inside of his cheek, the metallic taste of blood hitting his tongue as he fought the urge to scream. He felt his transformation begin to waver, his long golden hair slowly retreating back to its usual length before fading completely to black. His energy gone.

He felt incredibly sick, his worn onyx eyes looking about him in alarm as he could no longer sense his friends fighting. He was enraged, when he caught sight of an broken and injured Makhai and Bia, suspended by their wrists in midair by a warped Eris. The twister had now come to a complete halt, leaving the planes silent and still, though completely in ruins. The red-skinned princess threw her bloodied comrades to the ground, where they hit the mud with an audible **THUD**.

They groaned heavily from the impact, and Gohan couldn't help but feel a little relieved from that, a sign that they were still breathing to _some_ degree. He let out another snarl, as their crumpled forms were shortly joined by the battered body of Alala, curtesy of Kratos, who chucked the near unconscious girl on top of Bia before joining both Eris and Deimos in the sky.

Majin Deimos smirked maliciously, his palms outstretched as he smirked back at the halfling, who failed to muster the strength to fight his control any longer. He felt so unbearably _weak_.

"You almost had me, Destroyer," Zamasu jested, " _Almost_. But you see you and your so called 'Guardians' are no match for my divine majesty. And as the magic of the Majin eats away at their souls, they ultimately get stronger. Every hit that you land seeps into the atmosphere around you, and they soak the majority of it up for themselves, only strengthening them and making them more resilient. The curse all but recognises pain and turns it into power. Power that thanks to Deimos' technique, you no longer have access to whilst he still has a hold of you. And I will sit back and watch whilst your comrade drains every last drop, and rejoice as you fade away into nothingness."

"B-BASTARD! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Makhai cried suddenly, the boy getting shakily getting to his feet, as Bia and Alala woozily prised themselves out of the crater they had landed in.

The apprentice Kai chuckled darkly, his eyes averting to the boy for but a moment before he locked his gaze with Gohan's once more, "It seems as though I may just have to slaughter them first after all. All the more to make you _suffer_."

The teenager opened his mouth to retort, struggling against his invisible restraints and desperately attempting to bring forth his power once more, when a loud, barbarous bellow cut across the meadow.

" **ENOUGH!** "

His eyes widened in shock, as did Zamasu's and everyone else's present, as none other than Lord Beerus had decided to step into the fray. He had appeared before the Kai so fast that he had nearly missed it, grabbing hold of the evil deity's throat and hoisting him above his head. The beetle black eyes of the Destroyer bore directly into Zamasu's, as his long claws sunk into the flesh of his neck, drawing blood.

The Kai choked and spluttered, hands clawing and scratching at the wrist that held him in a vice grip - a vain attempt to get the cat-like God to release him. The Majins power wavered slightly, and Gohan was thankfully able to break out of the painful bonds that held him, blowing Deimos back with an explosive wave of Ki.

"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?!" He couldn't help but yell, drawing his predecessor's angered scowl for but a moment, "We've all been getting our arses kicked out here and _now_ you decide to help?!"

"Mind your tone with me boy!" Lord Beerus snapped angrily, before explaining himself, "I _wanted_ to give you the chance to prove yourself. It seems as though I was wrong to assume that you could handle this pathetic worm on your own. If anything, you should be grateful that I allowed you to continue this charade for so long."

" _Grateful?!_ " the young saiyan squawked, hardly believing his ears, "You've got to be JOKING!"

"Seems to me that you should stop making a habit of being so careless," he shot back, "And finish the job when I tell you to instead of letting that damned temper of yours get in the way of doing as you are told!"

The teenager clamped his mouth shut, as Whis sighed from across the fields, "He does have a point, Gohan."

"And now, to get rid of this treacherous filth," Lord Beerus scorned, eyeing the choking Kai in his grasp, "I have no doubt that The Grand Minister will take our word for it when we inform him of your misdeeds today, and insist that there was no other option but to Destroy you without trial. So, before you face oblivion, do you have any last words, Kai?"

Zamasu all but gagged in response, his lips steadily growing blue, his grip on the higher deity's grasp loosening.

"I thought so," the Destroyer stated, no remorse given as his features stood stoic, bringing up his remaining hand in an open palm, fingers pointed towards the sky, the devastating power of destruction just beyond the tip of his tongue.

A small sob was heard in the distance from Gowasu, just as a swirl of purple particles began to glow around Lord Beerus' claws.

" _HAK -_ ** _SNNNNOOOOORRRRRREEEEEE!_** "

Gohan blinked. Then blinked again. Hardly believing what he had just witnessed.

They were at the end. They were going to win. Lord Beerus was all but a _syllable_ away from sealing their victory when his head suddenly lulled forwards, eyes closed peacefully as he let out an enormous snore that echoed over the planet. It appeared as though the realm itself had been stunned into silence, as the great Destroyer of Universe Seven had promptly fallen to sleep.

Right in the middle of destroying Zamasu.

Whether the wicked Kai was behind it or not didn't matter, for it was _incredibly_ poor timing. Especially seen as Lord Beerus' hands relaxed in the midst of his slumber, and Zamasu had managed to wriggle free of his deadly grasp, disappearing completely out of sight in a flash of blinding light.

And then, chaos erupted.

It broke through the sudden stillness, as the Majin tainted Kratos, Eris and Deimos charged towards them once more. Gohan quickly burst into the second level of super saiyan, his energy now returned, lighting bolts rippling over his golden aura just as he managed to instinctively duck underneath Kratos' oncoming fist, grabbing it roughly and flipping the brute over his shoulder.

"PLAN C! PLAN C!" Makhai cried desperately, parrying a dark Ki blast that Majin Eris had sent his way before kicking her brutally across the jaw.

"What happened to plan B?!" Bia spouted, dodging out of the way of a knife hand from Majin Deimos and kneeing him in the sternum.

" _This_ was plan B! Remember?!" Alala shot back, helping out her comrade by ramming her fists into the boy's skull, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Wait! _Is_ there even a plan C?!" Makhai yelled, unleashing rapid fire on his opponent and blowing her into a nearby cliff.

"What do YOU think?!" Gohan seethed, his forearm clashing with Majin Kratos' oncoming shin and dodging out of the way of a stray blast that escaped the fray.

"Right then," his best friend puffed, a determined look crossing his features before he grabbed the belt on his gi trousers, "There's only one thing for it!"

"Not _every_ fight has to end with you mooning someone, Makhai!" The young saiyan roared, delivering a spinning kick to the side of Kratos' head and causing him to recoil.

"It's a good distraction!" He argued.

"I swear to Zalama, if I see ONE arse cheek, then I'll Destroy _you_ along with Zamasu!"

"Alright, alright!" the boy squeaked, tightening his sash back up again, "Yikes, no need for the gone-forever threat."

He rolled his eyes in exasperation, driving Kratos back with a well-aimed Masenko, the dark sky lighting up from the swirl of yellow energy. Damn it, what the hell where they going to do?! Better yet, where _was_ Zamasu?!

There appeared to be no sign of him, and it was incredibly difficult to signal out the Kai's corrupted Ki what with the sheer amount of negative energy battering against his senses. He looked down quickly, his emerald gaze darting across the planes to see a troubled looking Whis beside Lord Beerus, levitating his sleeping form above him.

Then suddenly, there was an ungodly, strangled cry that reached his ears, it cut through the air like a scythe, for there was no other cry like it, and one all too familiar to him.

A cry of death.

Gohan gasped, horrified, as Gowasu dropped to his knees over by where the Kais had been worriedly watching the battle take place. The God choked, gurgling as river of dark purple blood cascaded out of his mouth.

Behind him, was Zamasu. He smirked triumphantly, withdrawing the razor-sharp Ki blade from his master's back, prompting even more blood to spurt from the gaping slash at the centre of his chest cavity.

"NO!" Shin and Kibito cried out in both terror and anguish, as Gowasu's eyes rolled into the back of his skull, his pupils turning completely white. It was as though it was all happening in slow-motion, as The Supreme Kai of Universe Ten fell forwards like a puppet whose strings had been cut. And he hit the ground face down in a puddle of his own blood.

Dead.

The horror crawled up his throat and lodged there, as the young saiyan stared disbelievingly at the scene before him. His blood boiled over, as Zamasu stood and laughed, kicking Gowasu's motionless body with his boot before he turned his attention to a shaking Shin and Kibito, raising a hand as a fatal Ki blast swirled within his palm.

"NO! SUPREME KAI! _LOOK OUT_!" Gohan roared, his golden aura billowing around him as he raced to intercept the blast.

 **THWACK!**

He was cut short, as Majin Kratos sprang out of nowhere, barrelling into him and close-lining him out of the air. The halfling scrapped and snarled, embedding his fingernails into the brute's already wounded shoulder in an desperate attempt to prise out of his grasp. They span widely through the pitch black sky as Gohan viciously fought to overpower him.

With a blazing kick to the groin, the young saiyan then drove a sharp elbow into his larynx, subsequently causing his crazed comrade to screech out in agony - clutching at both his crotch and his throat, choking as though he was about to spew. Gohan payed him no heed, spiralling madly across the atmosphere and resuming his desperate path towards Zamasu.

Though to his relief, Whis had beat him to it, blocking the murderous blast that had already escaped the wicked Kai's palm in the ensuing chaos. Zamasu glared back at the Angel, who had quickly conjured a transparent, lime-coloured shield around the Kais from across the planes, saving both Shin and Kibito from being wiped out.

"It's like I said," Zamasu sneered, his cold gaze drifting towards the Kais once more as the dust settled, "You're only prolonging the inevitable. I wouldn't hang around if I were you."

"YOU BASTARD!" Gohan bellowed, charging towards the corrupted God in a swirl of golden, crackling energy.

Alas, his attempt was in vain.

"KAI KAI!" Zamasu cried, directing once last smirk towards the Junior Destroyer, before he teleported away in a flash of brilliant white light.

Gohan stumbled, skidding to a halt and kicking up a shower of dirt around him, landing just as he disappeared and missing the villainous Kai by milliseconds. Though there was no time to ponder just where he had disappeared to, as his vision was suddenly assaulted by several more flashes of blinding light that shook the ground around them. And one by one, the Super Dragonballs disappeared in the same manner as Zamasu.

"SHIT!" Makhai spat, racing towards the last gigantic wishing orb before it vanished in a spectacular glow, and unable to sense nor detect any sign of the apprentice Kai, "Where the hell did he go?!"

The young saiyan couldn't find the will to speak, a horrible feeling of dread encompassing him. That was, until several groans echoed around them.

"Ugh, what in seven hells happened?" Eris mustered weakly, Makhai immediately rushing to her side in order to steady her before she fell out of the air. Though surprisingly, she didn't push him away, "Where's Zamasu?"

"Yeah, and why do I feel as though I've just drank twenty more of those blasted Earth shots and then been hit with a sledgehammer?" Deimos growled, holding his head before gasping at half of his ribcage sticking out of the hole in his side, "And who the HELL had the _audacity_ to break my ribs?!"

"It's a long story," said Alala breathlessly, her garb just as torn and bloodied as the rest of them, though she was relieved that the Majin symbol had disappeared completely from her friends foreheads, "But Zamasu used Majin magic to put the three of you under some sort of power fuelled mind control. You attacked all of us."

Their eyes widened with a mixture of disbelief and anger, that was until Bia cut across them -

"Kratos, are you alright?" she asked worriedly, "You've been awfully quiet."

The warrior nodded stiffly from where he was kneeling on the ground, his hands resting in between his thighs, pain still evident in his watery eyes. He even looked a little green.

"Ah, I get it," Makhai observed wisely, "He's still recovering from Gohan kicking him in the nuts."

"It was _YOU_?!" Kratos gaped, whirling around to face the teen in question, his voice at least an octave higher than usual.

"Well, I _did_ warn you," The halfling told him, folding his arms across his chest before he frowned in thought, "Although you probably don't remember… my bad."

"YOUR _BAD_?!" He shrieked, his tone reaching a new pitch entirely, "What in the blazes compelled you to strike me _there_?!"

"I was _trying_ to save The Supreme Kai!" He argued hotly, his emotions running wild, "You were in my way! It was the only thing that I could think of that could stop you! Desperate times called for desperate measures!"

"Desperate times indeed, I'll remember that one during our next spar," Kratos growled lowly, before realisation kicked in, "Wait, The Supreme Kai?! What happened to -?!"

He stopped short, his blue eyes widening in horror and disbelief at the sight before them. The group of teens turned, to see The Supreme Kai kneeling before Gowasu's body, his garb soaking up the blood that pooled around the deceased, muttering a quiet prayer as he gently closed his deadened eyes. Kibito looked on forlornly, his head bowed in respect as he watched his master.

Whis stood next to them, a sleeping Lord Beerus levitating in the air above him - who was oblivious to the horrors that had just taken place. The Angel had a stern look upon his features, his eyebrows knitted together as Gohan approached.

"Whis," the young saiyan started tentatively, prompting the Gods to look towards him, "Is he -?"

He knew the answer of course, but he didn't want to believe it. Though, it was Shin who answered for him, steadily getting to his feet.

"I'm afraid so, Lord Gohan," he mustered solemnly, drawing in a shaky breath, "Gowasu is dead, and in turn so Lord Rumush, the God of Destruction for Universe Ten."

The sacred planes grew eerily silent once more, as the reality hit them full force. Zamasu had won, and thus his and Perses' plans had already begun, starting with the Gods of the tenth universe. Gohan clenched his fists, sizzling with contempt. He had already failed.

"No doubt that the tenth universe will soon be plunged into the chaos that our enemies so desperately seek," Shin sighed hopelessly, voicing the teenager's thoughts and shaking his head, "Murdering a Kai, I ask you. To what lengths will they go?"

"I should have just Destroyed him," Gohan spouted boldly to no one in particular, his fists trembling, "I should have finished him when I had the chance."

"No, you shouldn't have," Whis stated suddenly, causing the halfling to look towards him in surprise, "You would have been reprimanded yourself if you had Destroyed Zamasu without sufficient proof. Lord Beerus is of higher ranking than you Gohan, therefore if he had taken the fall - which I highly suspect he would of - it would have softened the blow. However, with Gowasu's death and subsequently Lord Rumush, we now have all the proof of Zamasu's bloodlust we need to Destroy him without order. For he has committed such a great act of high treason."

"But that doesn't matter!" The teenager said hotly, frustrated by his mentor's words, "Zamasu escaped anyway! It's worth nothing!"

"Maybe not _this_ time," The Angel said knowingly, confusing him even more so, "Tell me Gohan, are you ready to try again?"

"Wha - ?"

Whis smiled, "I can turn back time, remember?"

Gohan's eyes widened to the size of saucers. _Of course! The Temporal Do-over!_

His mentor had the ability to rewind time, without creating an alternate universe. Granted, the amount of times he had used the technique were few and far between, for manipulating the time stream was incredibly messy business indeed. Whis had only used it if he or Lord Beerus had Destroyed something that they weren't supposed to, for example when his predecessor had let out an enormous sneeze whilst travelling in The Warp a few years back, accidentally Destroying three solar systems in the East Galaxy. Or another time, when Gohan had ran into the temple and crashed into Lord Beerus' precious aquarium and sent all the fish spewing out of the enormous hole in the tank.

"But as you recall my boy, it has its limitations," his mentor continued, "I can only rewind the stream of time by three minutes in total, after that I'm afraid that I won't be able to do it for quite a long while."

"Hang on a tick!" blurted Makhai, "You can _rewind_ time?! How come none of us knew?"

"Master Whis doesn't have to inform _any_ of us about his techniques!" Kratos glowered, "Now be quiet! We're wasting time here!"

The ginger-haired Guardian scoffed, "You're just sour because Whis couldn't have gone back earlier and stopped Gohan from kicking you in the - "

"Will we go back to being possessed again?" Eris interrupted, cutting across the bickering duo, Makhai's arm still holding her supportively by the waist.

"I'm afraid so," said The Supreme Kai, "Though once we have apprehended Zamasu, we will get him to break the enchantment. I am positive that he was bluffing about not being able to undo it in order to fuel Lord Gohan's anger."

"That vile _fiend_ ," Deimos growled, "I can't believe that he managed to control me like that."

"Are you ready, Gohan?" asked Whis, his aqua eyes surveying him intently.

The young Destroyer nodded, now more determined than ever to set this right, as his mentor spoke again, "I think you know what you have to do."

The blue-skinned deity raised his staff, tapping it on the dusty ground in rapid succession - _one, two, three._

It was as though everything froze around them, coming to an abrupt halt, the colours marred and jumbled together before being sucked back out again. The Sacred Realm of The Kais whizzed around them in a blur of black and white. It was incredibly similar to watching his life flash before his eyes, albeit in reverse and only with recent events.

He felt a little dizzy, as he was quickly flung back across the planes, his senses impaired by the rewind, as though someone had shut off all notion of feeling. He saw a flash of blinding light around him, as the colossal Super Dragonballs reappeared, dotted around the realm as though they had never vanished in the first place. He watched unblinkingly, as the Majin versions of his friends started to attack the others in reverse, he saw Gowasu spring back up - very much alive again, and saw Zamasu reappear and then disappear once more.

That was his cue.

Gohan flung his right arm outwards, summoning the relic with all of his might as the colour started to reappear, as though someone was inking a colourful canvas. The small patches of grass that had managed to escape the heat of battle started to turn emerald, the dark sky remained, though the orange of the divine wishing orbs now stood out brightly against the velvet backdrop, and a cascade of dust and debris hit him straight in the face as the fighting resumed.

Where he could not previously hear, sounds started to drift back towards him, growing louder and louder with each passing second _._ His limbs began to move on their own, he felt his lips twisting in anger as his own voice reached his ears before he could wrap his head around what he was saying.

" - ONE arse cheek, then I'll Destroy _you_ along with Zamasu!"

His eyes widened, the natural flow of time had resumed it seemed. And it was with a crippling realisation of fear and panic did he realise just how close they were cutting it.

"Alright, alright!" Makhai squeaked, tightening his sash back up again, "Yikes, no need for the gone-forever threat - "

His best friend stopped short, his mouth hanging open in shock as he was experiencing the same strange feeling of being dropped back in time as Gohan was.

A split second of understanding drifted between the two boys, as the young saiyan gave Makhai a firm nod before kicking off from the ground in a blaze of electrifying Ki. Still in the second level of super saiyan, the wind whistled past his ears as he shot towards the Kais, powering up to gather even more speed - his golden aura now resembling a blazing inferno.

Knowing what was coming before it happened, he shot a powerful Ki ball towards the oncoming titan that was Kratos. Unprepared, the blast struck the Majin hard in the torso, the force of which sent him soaring backwards into a mountain range, colliding with each rocky crevice he met. Though the halfling did not turn his head to watch the rubble erupt behind him. Instead, he pushed on. An ear-piercing whistling sound reaching his ears, his fingers twitching in anticipation as they continued to stretch towards the horizon.

 _"LET ME AT HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM!"_ An all too familiar voice sounded, one that only the young Destroyer could hear.

And then, he spotted Zamasu reappear behind an unsuspecting Gowasu, just as he grasped the strong hilt of the sword -

 **CLANG!**

The air sizzled, popped and surged around them, the wind erupting from the collision of the two blades, blowing back the remains of grass at their feet and ripping them from their roots.

Gohan panted as he stood in between Gowasu and his attacker, the legendary Z-Sword singing with the satisfying clang that rang in their ears. Shin and Kibito smiled widely back at him, overjoyed that the plan had worked. Gowasu looked positively dumfounded, tumbling onto his backside as he scrambled away from the clash, a hand clutching at his chest out of shock.

The young saiyan smirked, as Zamasu's eyes widened in both amazement and vexation, the Ki-blade shattering around his palm instantaneously, the high-pitched sound just on the edge of hearing. The might of the relic all too powerful to be rivalled.

"H-How did you - ?!" The young Kai spluttered, his gaze raking across the ancient sword in his grasp.

"Yes! ALRIGHT Gohan!" Makhai shouted from a ways off, ducking another hit from Eris and punching Deimos in the nose, the pair both still Majin, though their moves now predicted thanks to Whis' time manipulation, "I knew you could do it! That git isn't going to murder any one else whilst we're still here! How'd you like _that one_ Zamasu?! Yeah I thought so! So why don't you stick that measly Ki blade right up your ungodly - !"

"W-What did he say?" Gowasu stammered, looking between the two junior deities, "Zamasu, you were really going to kill me?!"

Zamasu snarled, as Whis interrupted curtly, "Why yes Supreme Kai. In fact, a little under three minutes ago, you died by your apprentice's hand. And he almost got away with it too, if it weren't for Lord Gohan here."

"Of course," the Kai in question spat vindictively, his arm coming to rest by his side, as Gowasu was helped to his feet by Kibito, "Your Angel used that nifty time reversal technique of his. I should have foreseen it, Perses had already informed me of your power to manipulate time many years ago."

"It's like I said before, Zamasu," Gohan spouted in warning, the sharp edge of the Z-Sword now dangerously pointing at the Kai's neck, "Give it up, it's over. But before I Destroy you, I want you to turn my friends back to normal."

Zamasu sneered, before a wicked grin spread across his lips, causing Gohan to frown. He chuckled darkly, his laughter steadily becoming more crazed and manic before it turned into an all out cackle, echoing across the planes. It seemed to rise even above the battle still waging on between the Guard behind him, the cries of misplaced delight ringing over the clashing of fists.

The cruel tone was enough to send a shiver up his spine, though the young saiyan refused to allow the deceitful God to get under his skin again. Instead, he hardened his stare, forcing the point of the Z-Sword further into his adams apple and causing him to choke, cutting off his laughter abruptly as a trickle of blood seeped from the small cut he had made.

"You meddling _fool_ ," Zamasu rasped, still smirking through the pain, "If only you h-hadn't of rewound time, then y-you would have known what was c-coming."

Gohan bristled with anger, "What _are_ you blathering on about?! Turn my friends back right now before I slice your fucking head off!"

Though the apprentice seemed to take amusement in his threat, grinning madly back at him through the pain he was inflicting, pressing the relic even deeper against his reddening skin, "Ah, your friends… I-I wonder, w-where do you think all the p-power that has escaped them has g-gone to Destroyer? A-Are you so - _choke_ \- b-blinded by your own arrogance t-that you c-cannot see what is happening right - _scoff_ \- b-before you? The n-negative energy h-has not only been fuelling them - _gulp choke -_ i-it has b-been escaping t-them, and it **will** f-feed unto _m-me!_ "

"You've got about five seconds to explain what the hell you're on about or else -!"

Zamasu choked and laughed, the noise high pitched and raspy, "I-I'm afraid you d-don't have that l-long, t-this world w-will _burn_ , and the g-great u-utopia will **_rise from the ashes!_** "

Then Gohan felt it. The sudden, terrifying swell of mind boggling power that slammed onto his senses with an overwhelming amount of negative energy. The culprit - an enormous sizzling Ki ball that sped over the horizon towards them, the dark sphere eerily similar to the one that Zamasu had attempted to hit him with earlier.

 _'HA!' He had cried, remembering how the sonorous sphere of electrifying dark energy flew off into the distance behind him, 'Was that supposed to hit me? Looks like you're getting rusty already 'oh mighty' Zamasu!'_

 _'I wouldn't hang around if I were you.'_

His eyes widened. Oh bugger.

Though before he could even think about leaping out of harms way, did he realise that Zamasu didn't seem at all phased by the rampaging sphere of death was headed right for them. Instead, he smiled, almost in contentment, confusing the halfling even more so.

Especially when the blast crashed into the Kai's back, engulfing his body in a crippling dark aura. The force knocked Gohan back a few feet, sword away from the Kai's throat, watching with horror as Zamasu was completely eclipsed by the attack.

The young saiyan was left stunned. Had the Kai _completely_ lost the plot?! Accidentally taking the full force of the blast that was intended for him?!

 _"GOHAN MOVE!"_

He jumped, as his mentor's usually calm and collected voice shouted his command across the field. Whis had obviously understood what Zamasu was up to before he had, as the teenager failed to see the urgency of the situation. Though it only took a split second longer for the realisation to sink in, as where he was expecting an unrelenting BOOM of detonation - was there none.

Instead, the evil Kai's laughter cut through the air, the spherical blast not only engulfing him but seeping into his very form. He surged with raw power, deep purple lightening bolts rippling across his frame as his Ki sky-rocketed.

Then slowly, a wisp of paler, purple smoke started to exude from the aura, except, it wasn't smoke at all. The wisps unfurled and shot up like a shining beacon of light that dispersed the blackened clouds, before it warped and twisted in a magnificent display, shaping into a colossal bird that engulfed the upper atmosphere, just as large as the Super Dragonballs that reflected its immense light.

It was exactly how Zamasu had described, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Its large, feathered wings sprung outwards, as though hugging the entire realm so that its occupants could behold its beauty. Because that was exactly what it was, so elegant and refined that it was purely a sight to behold. Though, despite its ethereal nature, the power behind it was utterly _catastrophic_.

Gohan could feel it, the bubbling well of toxic might that lay just beyond the surface of what ever the hell this thing was. And worst of all, he thought, as the monstrous bird's dazzling reflection glinted in the blade of the Z-Sword in his palm, Zamasu was all too ready to utilise it.

"BEHOLD ABSOLUTE LIGHTENING!" The Kai roared to heavens unknown, "THERE ARE NO DO-OVERS NOW, **_BOY_**!"

And just like that, a titanic bellow escaped the spirit's beak, almost like a roar as it released a storm of purple lightening in a series of brutal shockwaves. The ground shook beneath their feet, the Kais crying out in alarm as valleys split apart and mountains crumbled to dust around them.

"AND NOW, TO REAP THE LAND! CLEANSING IT OF ALL THAT IS IMPURE!"

 **BOOM! SIZZLE! SCREECH! POP! BANG!**

Wave after wave of deathly spears rocked the atmosphere, as Zamasu mercilessly scorched the earth. Thick columns of smoke and ash exploded all around them as the realm erupted, a cacophony of sonic booms battering against their eardrums. The Majin magic finally wore off the possessed, the diabolical Kai now turning his attention towards obliterating the realm.

Kratos, Eris and Deimos hit the ground from where they had been previously fighting, bloodied and broken from their comrades onslaught. They looked up at the sky, similarly horrified by what they saw, their senses suddenly springing back to them full force as they regained their memory.

"What the HELL did you do?!" Kratos roared, snapping Gohan out of his stunned gaze as the boy's irate yells reached his ears. "You were _supposed_ go back and apprehend him! THIS IS **_WORSE_**!"

"Gotta say," said Makhai, side stepping quickly as a torrent of lava erupted from the earth beside him, "As much as you're my brother from another mother, and I side with you on pretty much everything… WHAT THE _ACTUAL_ ** _FUCK_** GOHAN?!"

"It wasn't my fault!" He protested hotly, the planet quickly falling apart around them.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," the Lethien sighed, looking up at Zamasu who had risen up into the sky along with the phoenix of doom, his arms outstretched and his eyes closed, as if relishing in the destruction around him, "There is no way that you can predict that nutcase, he's officially gone off the deep end."

Zamasu's manic screeches of laughter echoed in his ears over the cataclysmic booms that quaked the realm. The young saiyan clenched his jaw, enraged that he hadn't been able to stop this bedlam from happening. It seemed as though no matter what they did, Zamasu was always one step ahead of them.

Lost in his own thoughts, and covered in the filth of battle with sweat rolling down his brow, his tattered garb blowing around him in the hurricane-like winds, he failed to hear The Supreme Kai call out to him to leave. Instead, as The Supreme Guard raced towards the huddle of Kais, joining Whis and a still sleeping Lord Beerus, Gohan glared up at the gloating deity in the sky, a jolt of silver electricity cascading over his eyes.

A snapping, snarling corkscrew of anger unfurled within him. There was no way he was going to let Zamasu escape.

With a ferocious roar, the young Destroyer brought all of his power flooding forth, his crackling golden aura swiftly turning a vibrant shade of violet, the energy of Destruction pressurising the hot air around him. Gohan kicked off from the ground without another moment to lose, the sacred world already dying a most gruesome death. He ignored the shrieks from his friends and superiors, who had sensed his power flip into overdrive without warning, before he catapulted up towards the atmosphere in a blur of dazzling violet and gold.

"LORD GOHAN, NO!" He heard Shin and Kibito cry distantly, along with the poke at the back of his mind that he was certain was Whis attempting to stop him too.

Though his senses were dulled, numbed even, as all he could focus on that moment was the ruinous Ki of Zamasu. His laughter continued to grate on his every nerve, assaulting his eardrums as a flurry of sizzling lightening bolts surged across his entire body. Speeding forwards, the evil deity all but watched his rapidly approaching form with scornful eyes, seemingly unfazed as to the halfling's might against his own.

That was, until the young saiyan brought up the hilt of the Z-Sword above his head, his muscular arms rippling with power, as he bellowed with all his fury, bringing down the blade in one mighty swing - !

 **KA-BOOM!**

A loud, thunderous boom clamoured across the atmosphere, resonating though the entire realm as the ancient relic collided with the humongous phoenix. It warped, trembling as though in pain as the elegant sight quickly became mutilated and deformed.

"I-Impossible," Zamasu whispered disbelievingly, his eyes hardening with anger as the blade swiped right through the creature's centre.

Though just before the skull split completely in two, a last roar of defiance escaped its beak, the violent efflux of devastating Absolute Lightening striking the young Destroyer straight in the chest.

 **ZAAAAAP!**

Gohan yowled in agony as the lethal beam struck. It felt as though pure electricity was burning right through him, the unrelenting voltage stabbing at every inch of him like a thousand white hot knives.

It was the worst pain that he had ever felt in all of his existence.

It was so intense, unyielding, that he momentarily forgot where he was. He felt as though his head was about to split open from how much it hurt, and all he could hear were blood curdling screams that he was certain were his own. His vision faded and turned to black, much like how it had when he had died, except white spots started to appear before his eyes as the rest of his hearing slowly came back into focus.

A bombardment of yelling and screeching echoed around him, and through the haze that slowly gifted his sight back to him, he spotted a shower of broken particles belonging to the now shattered bird. The spell of energy dispersed across the planes, now engulfed in flames and bubbling lava.

He was falling, he realised, his transformation having left him completely. His limbs were heavy like lead, though somehow he still managed to keep a loose grip on the Z-Sword, vaguely remembering Whis' warning through the mist of his agony. His entire body twitched and jolted from the aftershock, prickles of electricity still stabbing through him.

Just then, a torrent of blinding light obscured his vision, and a faint tug at the back of his neck told him that someone had grasped onto what was left of his ceremonial garb. He briefly wondered where Zamasu had gotten to, panic rising within him as he attempted to fight against his brain that was muggy like sludge.

He managed to open his eyelids a little more, still twitching with pain, and it was with a heavy heart did he clap eyes on the corrupted apprentice just before he teleported away, the shadow of the Super Dragonballs leaving with him.

Though the young saiyan couldn't help but notice, with a small feeling of satisfaction, that Zamasu looked more than infuriated that he had managed to survive such a deadly attack.

"S-Screw you Zamasu," Gohan slurred weakly, even though the evil deity had long gone. He felt as though he was floating in midair, "I'm s'more d-durable than y-you thoughts…"

"Oh for the love of -," he heard a gruff voice muster in annoyance, "Can someone just heal this idiot already?"

"Allow me, Kratos," came a voice that sounded much like Kibito, though he seemed rather shaken, "The young Lord is quite obviously suffering from a brain injury."

Makhai snorted beside him, "You can say that again."

"It may be a concussion, if he's hallucinating like this," said Kibito more firmly, "Though I daresay it could be from the blood loss also. There is a lot of internal bleeding, it's a wonder as to how he managed to survive that…"

More chatter surrounded him, though he could no longer hear what they were saying, as a familiar _WHOOOOSH_ hummed around him, and a sudden warmth radiated right through him, heating up his entire being almost pleasantly. The rigid tension still holding onto his muscles relaxed, the pain subsiding almost instantly. He breathed deeply, savouring the relief and allowing his senses to flood back to him, opening his onyx eyes and drinking in his surroundings -

"WHAT THE BLOODY FUCKING BUMBLING _HELL_ DID YOU THINK YOU WERE **_DOING_**?!" Makhai positively roared, his face mere inches from his own.

The young saiyan frowned, quickly realising that they were travelling inside The Warp, numerous galaxies and stars whizzing past them in a myriad of swirling colour. He spotted Whis at the helm, with Lord Beerus still sleeping soundly next to him. The Supreme Kai was giving him a concerned stare from beside a trembling Gowasu, whilst Kibito knelt before him, withdrawing his healing hands now that he was quite obviously awake.

Gohan blinked rapidly from where he lay on his back with the members of The Supreme Guard surrounding him. Although they were all fully healed like he was now, they were still covered in blood and dirt, grabs sticky with sweat, torn and very much singed.

Looking down, he found that he was most likely the worst of all of them, his own cloak pretty much non-existent, his gi trousers torn with large burn holes exposing parts of his bloodied and muddy legs. The Z-Sword still rested in his palm, dusty and covered in ash from battle. He could feel the caked dryness of blood on his face from where his eyebrow had split open. To his dismay, it had gushed out further and already dried onto his muscular chest, making it look as though someone had butchered him. Though it was both red and purple, a combination of his own blood along with Zamasu's, and his hands were also rife with it. Speaking of -

"Where's Zamasu?" he asked firmly, his features contorting into a deep frown, as his best friend scoffed, still quite obviously seething.

" _Zamasu?!"_ He cried, "You're seriously worrying about that git when you nearly got yourself wiped from existence?!"

His eyes widened, "Wait, what?"

"You heard me!" Makhai spouted, "Are you _deliberately_ thick or something?! You went after that massive pigeon and got hit dead in the heart by a thunderbolt right before the realm exploded and Zamasu pissed off on his jollies to who knows where with the Dragonballs!"

"Shit!" Gohan spat, sitting up fully and balling up his fists in anger, "I can't believe that he escaped! We've got to go back there and find out where he's -!"

" _Hello?!_ " The ginger-haired teen pressed, rapping his knuckles sharply on his head in rapid succession, as though trying to knock some sense into him, "Did you _not_ hear me?! The entire realm exploded! There is no going back there! That, _and_ your soul almost got completely kicked off the face of reality, so why don't you chill the F out for a moment 'Mister suicide squad'!?"

"But I - !"

"Makhai is quite right Gohan," Whis cut across him wisely, as the teenager tried to protest.

"He is?"

"I am?"

"Indeed," The Angel spoke up, his eyes averting to him momentarily before he focussed ahead, directing The Warp in its path, "What did I tell you not so long ago about your recklessness? That it could indeed result in your end should you not think things through. Now, I know that you were angry, quite rightly so, but almost killing yourself for the second time would not do well for you or the cosmos as it stands."

"I'm sorry," Gohan mumbled quietly, his shoulders slumping as he felt the others staring, "But I just needed to do _something_. I couldn't just let Zamasu escape, but I suppose it didn't matter any way."

"I understand your feelings my boy, but sometimes it is best to do _nothing_ ," Whis said sternly, his head cocking towards him once more as he made his point known quite firmly, "Indeed, it is unfortunate that Zamasu managed to escape along with the Divine wishing orbs, but there is no use in getting yourself wiped from existence Gohan. I haven't seen anything quite like that attack of Zamasu's in all my years, you're lucky that I intervened when I did. Goodness knows what would have happened if Lord Beerus had seen you charge into that, he would have had kittens!"

"Eh?" Makhai mused, his brow furrowed in confusion, "I thought Lord Beerus was a bloke?"

"It's a turn of phrase Makhai," Whis sighed, as the others rolled their eyes, "Either way, he would have been very upset."

"Wait, _you_ intervened?" asked Gohan in bewilderment, "Then why did you bother saving me instead of stopping Zamasu - not that I'm not grateful mind you." He added with a second thought, as his mentor gave him a sober look.

"I saved you as per my duty Gohan," he informed him curtly, "Had I gone after Zamasu - which goes against my own code as an Angel, we would have lost you. I am merely bound to the Destroyers world, my role is solely to guide, assist and train Lord Beerus, which also extends to you. Hence why I am guiding you to defeat this plague of evil that threatens existence instead of taking them out myself. The most important thing at that time was getting you out safely, had I not then I would have failed you and my duty."

"I-I didn't mean to act so recklessly," The young Destroyer mustered sheepishly, prompting his mentor to give him a small smile of reassurance.

"You must make sure that you remember your training," he said, turning away from him once more, "You do not want to make another mistake like that, next time I might not be there to save you."

"What even _was_ that thing that hit me anyway?" Gohan started, he was still sizzling with anger. He couldn't believe that Zamasu had bested him, it was incredibly difficult to accept their defeat. A sickening well of guilt swirled within him at the thought of the corrupted Kai's escape, the fact that he already had six of seven Super Dragonballs made it even worse.

"Yeah it was pretty wicked," said Alala, "He managed to destroy the entire realm!"

"A spectacular display by all accounts," said Shin, though his expression was grim, "Not unlike the spirit bomb utilised by the lower Kais, except Zamasu draw on the negative energy that exuded from the Majin curse, subsequently warping it into something even more terrifying and powerful. Zamasu is exceedingly clever. That hidden blast must have been hanging around the atmosphere somewhere, I'm not entirely sure just how he managed to conceal it, unless he used an enchantment on it like he did the Dragonballs."

"Bastard," Gohan growled, looking towards Shin and Gowasu - the latter still pale and trembling, "I should have intercepted that attack instead of letting it fly off like that. I'm so sorry Supreme Kai sir, your realm shouldn't have had to pay the price for my miscalculation."

"Not at all Lord Gohan," Gowasu mustered, the corners of his mouth twitching into a half smile despite the destruction of his sacred realm and the loss of his student, "Even though Zamasu escaped, I have you to thank for my life, and keeping the tenth universe in balance - for now at least. For what it's worth, I will convince Lord Rumush to join in your cause to apprehend Perses, and now Zamasu too. It is obvious to me now more than ever that each universe must work together in order to overcome this threat. If it wouldn't be so bold of me to ask, but please forgive me for not noticing my student's corruption sooner."

The teenager was shocked, not quite knowing what to say. Luckily, Whis was able to answer for him, "Not at all, Supreme Kai. You couldn't have known. Now, I daresay that a trip to The Grand Minister is required before we try and create another real for you to reside in, and no doubt you will need some protection also. I expect we will have to ask for another sacred time ring also, they have most likely been destroyed."

Gohan wasn't really listening, lost in his own damning thoughts as Gowasu looked relieved by the Angel's words, and bowed his head in thanks as Whis continued, "We will teleport to The Omni-King's palace as soon as we reach our universe and tuck Lord Beerus up in bed."

"An excellent plan Whis," Shin agreed, turning to The Supreme Guard, "In the meantime, I want all of you to be on high alert. Should you catch any wind of Zamasu then you will put out a distress signal from your communicators."

They nodded, determination in their eyes as Whis spoke again, "Should the distress call sound then you will all report to The Sacred Realm of The Kais immediately, including you Gohan. The quicker we apprehend Zamasu the better. Now Kibito, would you be so kind as to teleport Lord Gohan back to Earth? We have just crossed over the boundary to the seventh universe."

Kibito bowed respectfully, moving over to the young Destroyer in question and allowed him to place a hand on his shoulder. Though just as Gohan prepared himself to be squeezed through reality and hurled across the universe, his mentor gave him one more piece of advice before he departed.

"Oh and Gohan?"

"Yes sir?" He quirked, as the Angel's eyes bore into his.

"Remember, my boy, there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity."

Makhai snorted, "You can say that again."

* * *

Kibito left just as swiftly as they had landed, giving him a rather hurried bow before he disappeared back to the Kai's sacred realm. And what with such a mess left to clean up, Gohan didn't blame him from leaving so abruptly.

He sighed, his mind left reeling once more as he stared out at the starlit sky that blanketed the Eastern mountains. They had teleported straight to the same spot that he had left, directly outside of his parent's home. It was late, and the tantalising smell of his mother's cooking wafted pleasantly towards his nostrils, intermingling with the fresh pine that blew from the small summer breeze sweeping through the dark trees of the forest.

The Earth had no idea. No idea of the catastrophic events that had just transpired. The calming stillness of the air left unaffected by another universe's plight, which would no doubt soon exude unto them. It was almost surreal, the fact that way out in the sticks of the North Galaxy, the Earthlings had no clue to the fact that the entire cosmos now hung in the balance far beyond what he could control, and similarly his family and friends didn't know of the weight of responsibility that rested upon his shoulders.

He had tucked Z back into his scabbard, not just because he wished to conceal it, but mainly because he wished to be left alone right now. And try not to think of the disappointment that lingered in both the Gods and his friends eyes because he couldn't put an end to Zamasu like he should have, and instead almost got himself wiped from existence in the process.

Yet alas, it didn't look as though he was going to get any alone time any time soon.

He breathed deeply, the scent of roast boar causing his mouth to water. It was a comforting smell by all accounts, and just what he needed after what had just transpired. His stomach grumbled in protest, as he watched the slow column of steam rising from the chimney of the humble cottage. The warm light from the kitchen and dining room radiated over the dark grass towards his feet, indicating where his family resided, along with the strong Ki's of the Z-Fighters.

They must have all been invited back to the Son cottage for dinner after training, he realised, and his chest gave a funny but not unpleasant jolt at the thought of seeing Videl again, especially considering what had transpired between them in the last twenty-four hours.

However, looking down at his tattered and dirt laden attire that was drenched in a mixture of his own and Zamasu's blood, he would rather not greet her or anyone else like this. _Especially_ not his mother. From what he could remember, she used to shriek if he had all but grazed his knee, she would be utterly beside herself if she saw him in such a sorry state.

He griped to himself in annoyance, he _really_ should have asked Kibito to change his clothes into something more respectable before he teleported away.

Luckily, no one had looked out of the window and spotted him quite yet, they must be all too wrapped up in their own conversations to notice his Ki flicker into existence outside. With that in mind, Gohan further warped his Ki and lowered it to the size of a door mouse before creeping in through the front door.

He tiptoed through the hallway, closing the door as quietly as he could, the Z-Fighter's muffled voices reaching his ears. He trod carefully, making sure that he didn't trail _too_ much mud and blood over the carpet as he went.

The voices were getting louder as he approached the dining room, and to his dismay he found that the door had been left open, giving the occupants a full view of the very staircase that Gohan needed to use in order to sneakily use the shower before they noticed he was here. It wasn't as though they weren't accustomed to the gruesome reality of battle after all, far from it. But the young halfling would much rather avoid all of the questioning right now. He would rather not admit his failings to them either.

He sighed begrudgingly to himself, crouching low and peaking around the doorway to make sure that everyone was distracted before he could make a run for it.

Though he couldn't help but smile at the scene before him, as the sound of scraping cutlery intermingled with the jovial chatter that echoed around the kitchen. It seemed his mother had gotten the emergency chairs and long table out in order to accommodate everyone, the great feast before them causing his stomach to whine once more.

It appeared as though all of the Earth's protectors had turned out for the training session that afternoon, a few sporting bandages and bruises here and there, but laughing heartily all the same. The old gang, Tien, Yamcha, Piccolo, Krillin, Vegeta and of course his father were all there, along with newer faces such as Eighteen, Videl, and Trunks, Goten and Marron. The Z-Fighters seemed to be ever growing, and appeared to be closer than ever before.

His gaze was immediately drawn to Videl, whose hair was piled hair into a messy bun atop her head, a pair of random chopsticks holding it in place with a few raven strands dropping down to frame her heart-shaped face. He felt his chest swell with warmth at the sight of her, making him feel a little better already. She looked a little worn out, her right bicep bound by bandages and a plaster upon her cheek. She wore orange gi trousers and a tight black tank top, her feet bare as she sat cross legged on the chair, smacking Goten's hands away with a laugh as he attempted to steal one of her roast potatoes.

From this angle, he could see Bee lying under the table, his tail wagging happily as Trunks stealthily fed him the vegetables he didn't want. Eighteen quickly defused the situation with a stern look in the boy's direction, who all but smiled sheepishly before popping a sprout rather reluctantly into his mouth. Little Marron giggled from where she sat opposite him, obediently eating all of her vegetables much to her mothers satisfaction.

There was a short gasp that erupted from somewhere near Videl. Vegeta must have said something sarcastic to her from across the table, as she quickly bit back with a retort of her own, causing the saiyan prince's face to burn red with anger and Krillin and Yamcha to let out a resounding chorus of ' _oooooooh_!'

His father let out a bark of laughter whilst Tien and Piccolo rolled their eyes at the display. Goku slapped Vegeta hard on the back in camaraderie from his place next to him, causing the man to growl in his direction. Gohan watched as his mother glided between them as she made her way around the table with a basket of bread in her hands, quelling the bickering that was soon to erupt between the two Saiyan men. Chi-Chi smiled widely as her cooking was complimented by Yamcha and Eighteen, before asking if anyone cared for more carrots or gravy, which was readily accepted by the majority.

They all looked so happy, so carefree - and there was no way that Gohan was going to ruin the moment. Granted, he may talk to Piccolo about the state of cosmical chaos that they had been plunged into later, but for now all he wanted to do was take a steaming hot shower and wolf down some of his mother's wonderful cooking before his father and Vegeta ate it all.

As the warriors of Earth became further distracted by more food headed their way, the young saiyan ducked and rolled across the doorway with great success. Performing a little victory dance to himself as his presence remained undetected, Gohan stealthily put one foot on the first step of the staircase and -

 ** _CRRRRRREAK!_**

His heart sank, as at once the occupants of the dining room turned to face him with flabbergasted expressions. Their jaws dropped at the sight of the deceased halfling, his ceremonial garb practically hanging off him in tatters, dried blood caking one side of his face and trailing down his muscular torso, forearms and hands, the thick crimson and violet stains contrasting brilliantly with what remained of his white gi trousers. His little duck and roll technique had indeed splattered mud all over the carpet and walls, his long ebony hair still frazzled and sticking out in odd directions from where Zamasu's monster bird had electrocuted him. He grasped onto the bannister tightly, his halo shining brightly in the dim light of the hallway, looking very much like a deer in headlights.

Caught, red handed - no pun intended.

Gohan inwardly sighed in annoyance, had his father not fixed that BLASTED step yet?! Though he had no time to contemplate his father's reluctance towards house maintenance as his mother's subsequent scream threatened to shatter the window panes.

"OH MY KAMI!" Chi-Chi shrieked, hurtling towards him as the Z-Fighters winced at the sheer volume, "Gohan darling, what _happened_ to you?! YOU'RE HURT! My goodness! My poor baby!"

"Mum, I'm not - !" The teenager started to protest, as his mother yanked him off the staircase and hauled him into the dining room.

"Where does it hurt?! Here, let Mummy help -!" She insisted, kicking poor Krillin out of his seat so hard that he practically flew across the room. Though the worried woman paid no mind to the man's yelp of pain, and instead encouraged him to sit, her delicate fingers brushing through his frazzled hair and coming to rest as she grasped his face in both of her hands, her watery eyes surveying him before she snapped back at his father, " _GOKU_! What are you _doing?!_ DON'T JUST SIT THERE! GET OFF THAT SAIYAN BACKSIDE OF YOURS AND **HELP** HIM! GO AND GET ME SOME BANDAGES - ANTISEPTIC - A _SENZU -_!"

Goku quickly got over his shock, scrambling to his feet at his wife's irate command and making to find the equipment she required when Gohan _finally_ managed to get a word in edgeways.

"Dad stop! I'm fine!" He implored, before gazing back at his mother, "Mum, I'm _fine_ , honest! I'm not even hurt! I mean, I _was_ but now I'm all healed up! See?"

The ox-princess blinked rapidly in bewilderment, as the halfling flashed her a toothy smile, "B-But your _covered_ in blood! How did -?"

"Well," Gohan started awkwardly, all eyes upon him, "I sort of got into a fight…"

Vegeta scoffed, " _That_ much is obvious, brat."

"Please don't tell me it was Perses," Piccolo interjected seriously from where he leaned up the wall, causing the warriors eyes to widen in horror.

"No," the young saiyan said, a dark look encompassing him, taking the bloodied Z-Sword out of his scabbard so that he could lean back more comfortably in his chair, "It was Zamasu."

" _Zamasu_?" Vegeta said snidely, "You got beat up by that idiot Kai?"

"Oi! He's _eons_ stronger than our universes Kai!" Gohan shot back, his hands clenching into fists as he rested the ancient relic in between his legs, "Like you wouldn't believe."

"So, did you defeat him kiddo?" Krillin asked, the glimmer of hope in his eyes dissipating as the halfling gave him a glum look.

The young saying looked around at his family and friends, who were all staring at him with expectant eyes. Catching Videl's concerned gaze from where she had stood abruptly at the sight of his battered appearance, he sighed in defeat, and began to explain the events that had transpired, though managed to refrain from letting on the fact that he was a Destroyer.

When he had finished, he couldn't help but notice how the Z-Fighters were giving him a mixture of concerned and forlorn expressions. Especially his father, whose obsidian eyes had hardened considerably when he had informed him of Zamasu's realm destroying technique. He almost looked angry.

"What?" The teenager quirked, confused by the man's sudden serious expression.

"Gohan, I don't think that I have to tell you just how stupid that move you pulled was," said Goku, his tone low and dangerous, "You and I both know that if you die once already dead then you'll be wiped from existence for good, and no wish-granting dragon can bring you back from that."

Videl gasped suddenly, as his mother squeezed his shoulders in both comfort and desperation. Though Gohan all but frowned back at his father, "Yeah I know Dad, and I already got chewed out by my mentor for it too. But I couldn't just stand there and do nothing!"

"You have to be _careful_ Gohan!" His father spouted, his voice rising suddenly, catching the halfling off guard, "You won't be able to save anyone if you start acting so carelessly! I -!"

"I get what you're saying Dad," Gohan cut across him, a little annoyed, "But I don't need to be scolded like a kid. I _know_ what I did was rash, but it was all for nothing because Zamasu escaped anyway! I _tried_ to stop him my mentor's way, and it still didn't work. I had to give it one more shot, what would you have done?!"

"I would have had more _sense_!" Goku argued, as the teenager spluttered, though he couldn't help but notice the despair in his eyes, "That shot could have been your last!"

"Well it wasn't!" He protested hotly, "I'm fine!"

"That's not the point Gohan!" His father shouted, "You might not have been, and _none_ of us would have known! You could have been lost forever!"

 _"He's got a point you know,"_ piped up Z, causing the halfling to whirl around angrily - without thinking.

"And you can shut up as well!"

"Er Gohan?" mustered Krillin, as the room was plunged into an awkward silence at the sight of the teen talking to an inanimate object, "Are you... _shouting_ at your sword?"

"No."

" _Yes_."

"Look," Gohan continued, brushing a hand through his spikey ebony hair in an attempt to calm down, "I know I messed up, and I'm sorry. But I was _so close_. Then that bastard caught me off guard, I-I should have stopped him."

Chi-Chi gave his shoulder another reassuring squeeze, as his father sighed, a little ashamed of his outburst, "I'm sorry too son. I know that you're old enough to make your own mistakes, but I just don't like seeing you hurt."

He gave the saiyan a small smile, "Ah it wasn't that bad. Kibito said that most of my bleeding was internal, and that's where blood is supposed to be, right?"

Piccolo rolled his eyes, as a small titter of dark laughter escaped them.

Another wave of guilt crashed into him as the laughter subsided, and suddenly the young halfling found himself unable to look any of them in the eye, "I just wish that I had got him when I had the chance. And now no one knows where he is, and with the Super Dragonballs, who knows how long it is until Perses escapes. It's one huge mess."

"Wait, so these _'Super'_ Dragonballs?" Yamcha asked, recounting the young Destroyer's story, "Are they like ultra Dragonballs or something?"

"Sort of," Gohan began to explain, "They're actually Divine wishing orbs, and instead of being spread across planets they are spread across universes, the sixth and seventh to be precise. They can grant any wish without limitations, unlike Shenron and Porunga, and can take centuries if not millennia to collect. They are gigantic in size too, as big as planets."

"As big as _planets_?!" His father spluttered in disbelief, "Woah that's crazy! And you said that Zamasu has taken them?"

"Well six out of seven yeah," the teen saiyan griped, "Which basically means that we're screwed."

"Don't think like that Gohan," Videl said suddenly, causing them to look towards her, "It's not hopeless! So what if Zamasu has six Dragonballs? All we have to do is find the last one and hide it from him. That way, he won't be able to make whatever horrid wish he and Perses are dreaming up, right?!"

Gohan sighed hopelessly, putting his head in his hands, "That's a great idea Videl, really. But finding the last Super Dragonball is going to be a lot harder than finding them on Earth or Namek. It's like I said, they are spread across _universes,_ it probably took Zamasu the whole one thousand years that Perses has been imprisoned to find six of them, and I have no idea where to start."

"Er hello? Earth to Wonder Boy," she replied with a playful roll of her eyes, moving closer towards him and pulling his hands away from his face, "Aren't you forgetting that we have _Bulma_. And correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't she create not one, but _two_ dragonball radars? If she can do that then I'm certain that she can create another one, even one that's universal! All we have to do is find the last one, and we've got instant transmission and teleportation on our side!"

His jaw dropped, standing up and grasping her hands with his own, forgetting where they were for just a moment, "T-That's a great idea! Videl, you're amazing!"

"You're not the only one whose smart," she winked back, causing him to blush, their fingers still intwined together.

" _Hem hem."_

They jumped apart quickly, as Piccolo cleared his throat. The two teenagers had become so lost in each others eyes that they had failed to realise that the entire brood of Earth's protectors were staring at them with raised eyebrows and knowing smirks.

Gohan's cheeks seemed to grow several shades darker as he caught sight of Krillin and Yamcha's identical wolfish grins, and swiftly continued, purposely not looking Videl in the eye, "S-So, um, do you really think that Bulma can do it?"

"Of course she can, brat," Vegeta snorted, clearly unimpressed by the teens small yet obvious display of affection, "This is MY Bulma we're talking about. Her brain is clearly superior compared to the rest of the pathetic humans on this primitive planet."

"Yeah my mum's the best!" Trunks exclaimed from where he was sat next to Goten, his blue eyes wide in excitement, "I bet she'll be able to make it in no time Gohan, and then you can get a one up on those bad guys before you destroy them!"

He cringed a little at the boy's choice of words, though smiled back at him all the same, "Thanks squirt, that'll be a big help."

"I'll have Dende start looking in the sanctuary for any clues as to where this Super Dragonball might be," said Piccolo firmly, "Judging by its size and power, it could emit a more powerful signal than what we're used to. He and Mister Popo might be able to pin point the area where it might be residing if it is in this universe."

"And I'll ask King Kai!" His father smiled brightly, "He might be able to speak to the other lower Kais and see if they've gotten a whiff of an enormous dragonball in their galaxies! Don't you worry son, it's not all bad yet."

"Thanks everyone," said Gohan, feeling a little more at ease as his father ruffled his hair affectionately, "But if you don't mind, whilst you're all doing that, I'm going for a much needed shower - "

"Oh no you don't!" His mother shrieked before he stepped back over the threshold, "You've already made a mess in the hallway, and trudged the majority of blood, mud and Kami knows what else in here. You've got another thing coming if you think you're going to bloody up my bathroom mister!"

The teenager sighed, she did have a point after all, "Alright, I'll just use the tub outside - "

"Sorry son," Goku stopped him in his tracks, "I used it earlier and haven't emptied the dirty water yet. It'll take a while to heat back up again, why don't you use the spring?"

The young saiyan inwardly groaned, he really couldn't be bothered with flying over the mountain and using the hot spring that resided there, but alas, the battle filth was making him feel incredibly itchy and his skin was thick with blood and grime. Still, he reasoned, the sooner he was clean then the sooner he could fill his stomach with his mother's delicious cooking - that, and at least he could have some peace without being scolded and having to lie through his teeth for a while.

With a quick wave, Gohan took off out of the back door and leapt into the night air. It was pleasantly cool against his skin, the stars twinkling above him as he flew the familiar path towards the dark cave at the base of Mount Paozu. It was rather convenient, having a hot spring situated less than a mile away from his old home, and as a young boy he would come here often - mainly because he used the cave as a hiding place for his pet dragon.

But as he landed at the waterfall that shielded the cave from intruders, he found that much like himself, Icarus had moved on from this place also, for no sign of the purple dragon remained. He briefly wondered just where he had gone to as he set about stripping himself of his ruined clothes, banishing Z to his safe place and washing the majority of blood and dirt off in the waterfall. Perhaps Icarus had left the Eastern Mountains altogether when he realised that his old master wasn't coming back, and even though it saddened Gohan, he would have liked to have thought that maybe he was still living out there somewhere, eating his favourite fish and had maybe even met another special dragon and had little dragon babies with her or something.

The remains of war were swept away by the harsh torrent of cold water that roared around him, his long hair sticking flat to his head and muscular back. He wrinkled his nose slightly, as the water turned crimson at the base of his bare feet, noticing that the wound that Lord Beerus had bestowed in his side a week ago had already begun to scar over due to him being forced to have it heal naturally.

Satisfied that the water was running clear again, and that no more blood and dirt remained, Gohan decided to take a dip in the hot spring and relax much like he did when he was alive on Earth. Following his old routine, the halfling quickly gathered some firewood from the surrounding forest, and piled it up in the middle of the cave. An amber glow chased away the darkness and his shadow cast on the ancient stone walls as he lit it with a small Ki blast from his palm. The spring was situated in the middle of the cave floor, with small columns of unfurling steam rising from the crystal clear water. It wasn't as deep as he had remembered, his feet now comfortably able to touch the floor of the spring without his head and shoulders sinking underneath.

Gohan sighed gratefully as he lowered himself into the depths, resting his head back against the rock at the waters edge. The soothing warmth of the natural spring lapped pleasantly at his aching muscles, providing him with some relief and causing his entire body to relax. It was nice, listening to the slow drip of condensation that trickled from the cave ceiling along with the sounds of the sleeping forest outside and the roar of the waterfall. The air was hot and musty but not unpleasant as the fire crackled some feet away. He could even depict the stars twinkling from the small opening of the cave where the waterfall did not quite reach, bathing the foot of the mountain in a soft silver light.

The cave was nicely secluded, and as far as he knew only his family, friends and a small handful of very brave travellers knew about it, for there was not many who would dare to venture too far into the forests of the East. The East was full of danger and mystery, and part of the reason why Gohan had enjoyed growing up there so much - save a few run ins with a sabre-toothed tiger that liked to steal his hat on occasion.

He liked the tales and folk-lore the best. Especially the one about this cave in particular, which his grandfather had bestowed upon him many years ago. Gohan loved Grandpa Ox, and it was strange to hear old stories told by his mother and father about when he was a crazed and much feared King long before his birth. Looking at him now, the Ox-King was full of wisdom, kindness and an abundance of stories that was rife with any doting grandfather. And though there were many tales that were shared between them, the one about the ancient cave had always struck young Gohan so profoundly - for he could not find any scientific reason why there would be a hot spring in Mount Paozu, there were no volcanos or radioactive elements around here as far as he knew. So by that reasoning, it made the folk-tale even more believable.

According to Grandpa Ox, many centuries ago, a lowly traveller came to the East in search of the lost treasures of old. Although he was young and alone, he was as strong as an Ox - thereby earning this as his name - as sharp and as cunning as a serpent and as brave as a lion. He fought through the harsh Eastern lands, climbed mountains as high as the clouds, and defeated the great monsters that once plagued the dark forests. Soon enough, he met an elderly warlock who lived in a hut not far from these parts, who commended the young man on his cunning and bravery.

The warlock offered him food and shelter, and learned of his quest. Though sadly, the old warlock was not what he seemed. He was evil and corrupt, and wished to take the treasures for himself, in turn making a wish upon the treasures to return his youth and thus his power, and plunge the world into darkness. Knowing that the traveller would surely stop him, he took advantage of his kindness, and bestowed a curse upon him so that he was left without his sight. For without it, he would never be able to find the treasures that he would use for the good of his people, using his wish to feed his village through the harsh winter.

Blinded, the warlock stabbed him through the chest - missing his heart by inches, and left him to die as he set upon the young man's journey himself. Wounded and dying, the traveller managed to stumble from the hut, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. For days he stumbled through the forest, praying to the ancient Gods that he would be able to heal. He was weak, hungry, and thirsty with the dagger still sticking painfully out of his chest, when his keen ears heard the unmistakable sound of trickling water. He used the last of his strength to cut through the harsh branches of the forest, following the sound with his ears alone for he could not see.

He stumbled upon a waterfall that shrouded a dark cave, though before he could reach it he slipped on the bed of rocks and fell into the deep lagoon. Thinking that his days were numbered, he cast his thoughts back to his starving village, praying that his death would not be in vain and that somehow they would make it through the coming months without him. He could feel his lungs filling with water, but just before he slipped into unconsciousness, he felt a pair of warm, delicate hands wrap around his middle and pull him from the lake bed.

When the traveller awoke, he realised that he could see. He was lying in a body of water in the spring, the dagger had disappeared from his chest although the wound was still bleeding freely and incredibly painful, as were his bones and muscles from his numerous days of travel.

The first thought he had was that he was in the realm above, and that he was dead, when a voice rang around the cave. The voice belonged to a young woman, the Goddess of the Lagoon. Striking beautiful, with fair skin, violet eyes and hair made from waterlilies, she told him that she had seen the goodness in his heart and sought to help him, for he was the only one that could stop the evil warlock that threatened the world.

To further prove her prowess, the cold spring he was lying naked within suddenly warmed with her power. It soothed and healed all of his wounds, and as the days went by and the Goddess continued to nurse and care for him, he quickly fell in love with her. He was certain that she had fallen in love with him too, as she gave him the strength to vanquish the evil that had swept through the province in the weeks that he had been gone.

With the enemy finally defeated, the traveller was hailed a hero and King of the mountain of fire, and through his glory he managed to obtain all the money he needed in order to feed his village for years to come. Though before he returned to his home, the young man sought out the cave again, in order to thank the Goddess for giving him all the love and strength he needed, and in turn ask her to come back to the village with him and become his wife.

Alas, when he returned to the cave victorious, the Goddess was gone. He called out to her until the stars were high and the sun had long since left the Earth, but the only thing that remained of her was the steaming water that she had used to give him strength. And the traveller, heartbroken, returned back to his village, wondering if the Goddess had even existed in the first place.

The story had a rather depressing ending by all accounts, and was pretty gruesome in parts, but Gohan had always liked it, and would even wonder if he would ever catch a glimpse of the Goddess of the Lagoon if he hung around long enough. But now the halfling was older and wiser, and knew that no such Goddess existed, sadly, despite what his grandfather had claimed was the true story of the start of the monarchy in the Ox-Kingdom, and that the lowly traveller was indeed his great ancestor. But alas, Gohan now knew all too well of the divine entities that watched over the cosmos, the ones in this universe personally, what with being one himself.

The young saiyan sighed again, closing his eyes and sinking lower into the water so that his lips touched the warm surface. What he wouldn't give to be living in a world of fairytales right now. He could pretend that this whole Zamasu palaver wasn't even happening, and that Perses could just disappear out of his mind just like the Lagoon Goddess had disappeared from his supposed ancestor's sight.

A spark of Ki suddenly illuminated his senses, causing his eyes to snap open as he almost jumped right out of his skin. For a moment there he almost thought that the fabled Goddess had just appeared right in front of him, as a slender shadow cascaded over the stone walls. He breathed out a sigh of relief, when he managed to get a hold of himself and identify who the energy belonged to, just as the girl stepped into the humid warmth of the cave.

" _There_ you are," Videl grinned triumphantly, the soft amber glow lighting up the delicate beauty of her features, "It took me forever to find this place, it really is tucked away, huh?"

"Well, y-yeah," Gohan mustered rather dumbly, shrinking away from her a little as he realised just how clear the spring water was, his face heating up considerably.

It wasn't as though she hadn't seen everything before - last night and this morning was more than enough for her to get a good look in, but the young saiyan wasn't quite used to being starkers in front of a girl quite yet, the whole thing still very new and exciting. And Videl, with her stunning looks and witty, flirtatious banter certainly didn't help his nervous demeanour.

"So?" She asked, a playful look in her gorgeous sapphire eyes.

The young Destroyer blinked, "So what?"

"Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Gohan gulped, his mouth suddenly running dry as she raised an eyebrow, "W-well, I uh - "

Though the Satan girl didn't bother giving him time to answer, grabbing the hem of her tank top and pulling said garment, along with her sports bra, right over her head and tossing it aside, exposing her creamy white skin and causing the young saiyan's jaw to drop.

"V-Videl!" He hissed, coming to his senses somewhat, "What are you _doing_?!"

She snorted, pulling the chopsticks from her bun and allowing her long raven tresses to spill over her shoulders, "Don't tell me that the man who saved the world is scared of a naked girl of all things?"

Gohan scowled, as the girl continued, lowering her voice in what was - in his opinion - a terrible impression of his own, "'Ooh look at me, I'm Son Gohan and I blasted Cell into smithereens but I'm scared of Videl's boobies -' EEK!"

She squealed, laughing heartily as a cascade of water engulfed her, curtesy of Gohan, who was grinning victoriously, though his cheeks were still burning crimson as he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Real mature," Videl scoffed, rolling her eyes playfully, before she pulled off her now sopping wet gi trousers and knickers and jumped into the spring.

The water rocked as it hit the halfling in the face, though he couldn't help but smile as he wiped the wetness from his eyes.

"Anyone could come back here you know," he told her, as she swam over to him, her dark hair sticking to her face much like his. "Or have you forgotten about our friends and my parents who are literally over the mountain?"

"Oh do calm down Gohan," she replied, running her hands over his neck and shoulders, causing him to shudder as her nakedness brushed against his under the water, "No one in their right mind is going to come looking for us, unless they want to get an eyeful."

He laughed, before he found that his lips were occupied by Videl's. Even if anyone did think of coming to look for the teenagers, he hoped that his father would throw them off the scent. Thoughts of his family quickly dissipated however, as he grasped her waist tightly, his breath hitching as her breast pressed against his torso, his skin prickling with goosebumps as the water suddenly grew several degrees hotter. Their tongues clashed together, almost expertly now as they had quickly become accustomed to one another. Her kiss was electric, mesmerising, his entire body sizzling with heat. It resonated through his entire being and filled up his heart in the most tantalising of ways, especially when she let out a soft moan of appreciation into his mouth.

Though to Gohan's disappointment, Videl had to pull away for a breath of much needed oxygen. She panted, her hands resting upon his chest as he leaned forwards and kissed her forehead, relishing in her wondrous presence as the warm water lapped between them.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

He frowned in confusion, "Yeah, why?"

Her head snapped up suddenly, eyes boring into his, "You know, lying isn't a good look on you, Gohan."

The young saiyan winced at that, though he tried not to let it show, brushing it off before the guilt threatened to creep in once more, "It's nothing, I -"

He stopped short, as Videl's disbelieving stare made him give in, "I suppose I'm just worried, obviously. I failed. I failed from stopping Zamasu and now he's probably chumming it up with Perses thinking of a faster way to annihilate everyone. And I - "

"You're worried about Earth?" She asked again, cutting across him.

Gohan bit his lip, he had already told them that Earth would most likely be one of the first on the hit list. It was for their own good, at least they could prepare if anything should go awry. However, the young Destroyer had informed the Z-Fighters that there was no way in HFIL that he would allow it to come to that, and as soon as he had managed to figure out the Super Saiyan God prophecy with Shenron's help, then maybe he would stand a better chance at defeating Zamasu before he even set his sights upon the Earth. Though as Vegeta had quite rightly pointed out at the time, summoning the Eternal Dragon was still three weeks away, and Perses could have already escaped by then. Still, the halfling was certain that Zamasu wouldn't _dare_ to show up on Earth whilst he was still on it.

Videl sighed when he didn't answer, the expression on his face told her all she needed to hear, "You're going to go prematurely grey with all this worrying. We'll be fine, we'll train hard and beat whatever those evil Gods throw at us. Look, I know that you're the saviour of Earth, but we beat Majin Buu without you, didn't we? Have a little faith."

He smiled back at her, "It's not like I don't have faith in all of you, but what if I'm not there, what if Perses manages to escape and Destroy me and I - "

He was stopped short, by the girl placing a wet finger over his lips, "You can't think like that. It's not helping any. The best thing that you can do right now is stop thinking about what might happen and prepare for what is happening now. You could train with us and help us get stronger, and find that damned dragonball before Zamasu has a chance to put his filthy hands all over it!"

Moving her hand away, he kissed her, long and deep, running his fingers over her cheek and cupping her jaw. She sighed into the kiss as he took her breath away, suddenly left reeling as he pulled back.

"You know," he spoke quietly, still caressing her jaw, "I wish that I could just shrink you down and keep you in my pocket so that you can give me pep talks and motivational speeches whenever I get sad."

"That's cute," she told him, before mulling it over, "… I think. Though it could be seen as a little creepy Gohan, kidnapping a girl and keeping her in your pocket like that."

"Who said I'd be kidnapping you?" he quirked playfully, kissing her again and mumbling against her lips, "You'd come willingly."

Videl giggled, her lips moving sweetly against his before he spoke again, "I don't even think I'd have bother to shrink you actually, now that I think about it. You're already _so tiny_ …. and angry."

She shoved him off harshly, glaring daggers at the halfling before splashing some water in his face.

Gohan sighed mockingly, the warm water dripping from his chin, "See what I mean?!"

The Satan girl huffed, though she failed to hide her amused smile, "Yeah and maybe I could tell you not to go around throwing yourself into killing attacks and almost getting yourself wiped from existence."

He pouted, puppy eyes growing wide, "Are you going to tell me off too?"

"Nah, I'll let you off _this_ time," she told him, "You already got a rather big bollocking from your dad, he didn't seem best pleased. Though we did have a guess that something dodgy was going on when the Z-Sword went crashing out of the house. It gave your mum a good fright when it put a hole through your bedroom wall and flew through the kitchen, it nearly took Yamcha's head off!"

Gohan smiled sheepishly, as she gave him a curious look, "Just out of curiosity, how long do you stay dead for any way? It seems a bit weird for a God to stay dead, and you said something earlier about Perses wishing for a deities lifespan…"

"Well, the rules are that I'll continue to stay dead until my predecessor dies and because I'll be taking over I'll be granted a deities lifespan," the young saiyan explained, "Which is like being back to life except that I'll maintain my prime and never age, living for millions if not billions of years. But because I'll live so long I'll get super tired, and sleep for decades and sometimes centuries at a time, all to maintain a balance in the universe. My successor will be chosen eventually and then I'll help to train them and then… well, that's it really."

"Wow, that's a lot to take in," Videl blinked, before frowning in thought, "So when I die…"

" _Videl_ ," he pressed quite urgently for her to stop, he really didn't want her to finish that sentence, he didn't want to think about Videl as anything but was she was now. Living. Living and breathing as she floated naked and beautiful in the warm spring of water before him.

Her frowned deepened considerably, "What? It happens to all of us eventually. You'd know that better than any one."

"I suppose…"

"Hang on a sec then," she continued, "So when I pass on, will I get to see you in The Otherworld? What's the rules on that? You said you're not allowed to be with a mortal to a certain extent, but does it count if I'm dead?"

Gohan paused, his mouth fell open a little, "I-I'm not sure really. You're still technically mortal, but you're not in the mortal world per say. Huh, I'll have to look up on that…"

Videl nodded, somewhat sadly, her fingertips reaching up and brushing his cheek, the movement sending droplets of water trailing from her wrist to her elbow.

"Well," she said, sapphire eyes glinting in the starlight that escaped the entrance of the cave, "I suppose that there's some hope at least."

He was stunned, as realisation dawned on him. What on earth was she saying? Surely she didn't mean - ? She _couldn't_ …

"Videl listen," he said, catching her hand, "I don't want you to wait for me."

Her eyes widened, "W-what?"

"You have your whole life ahead of you," Gohan insisted, his onyx eyes burning with determination, though the hurt was evident from within the iris', "You could have _anyone_ and they would be so damned lucky to have you. I-I don't want you to spend your life waiting for some dead guy who won't have time to see you when you do eventually… _you know_ … because he'll be too busy either sleeping or doing God stuff to spend any real time with you, as much… as _much_ as he wants to and as much as it'll hurt not to see you."

"But I -" she tried to protest, but the halfling cut across her defiantly.

"No Videl, _please_ ," he said stubbornly, "I'll never forgive myself if you waste your life for me. You're… you're going to meet someone - " He cut short to take a breath, closing his eyes as he forced himself to ignore the sudden ache that filled his chest. _Gods_ , it hurt just to think about Videl being with any one else but him, it was like taking a knife to the heart. "You're going to meet someone that _deserves_ to be with you. Someone who will love and cherish you, and have time to be there for you in all of your happiest and darkest moments. You're going to be the best detective that Orange Star City has ever seen. You can do whatever the HFIL you want and no one can tell you otherwise. You can win tournaments, save the world, get married and have a family if you want to. You can grow old and watch your grandchildren become just as amazing as you are. It's something that I can never have Videl, something that I died for so that other people _could_ have. And you are going to savour every moment, live every moment to its fullest because you… you're the light that this world needs. You're _my_ light, and when all of this is over, when I have to leave, I'll watch your light grow until its fucking _blinding._ And it'll never be so if you wait for me."

A veil of silence encompassed them, the cave walls ringing in the wake of Gohan's speech. He held her face in both of his hands now, his onyx eyes watering with emotion as he stared into hers.

And then, she let out a shaky breath and said, "But what if I want to wait? W-What if you're _wrong_ and the only time that my light shines is when I'm with you."

The teenager sniffed, shaking his head at her obvious defiance as a chuckle escaped his lips, the tears in his eyes dissipating slowly, "You're so stubborn, do you know that?"

"Right back at you," she smiled, drawing him to her lips once more.

They pulled away after a while, and Gohan sighed almost longingly, "You're like the most stubborn person that I've ever met, Videl. And you know what? It's just one of the things that I love about you."

He caught the small hitch to her breath, and looked down at her as she spoke, rather tentatively. "Be careful with that word, wonder boy."

He frowned, "What word?"

"Don't play stupid," Videl stated firmly, though she tried to keep her tone playful, "You _know_ what word I mean. And if you really want me to move on when you've disappeared then you… you can't say it. If you do then it'll make all of this too real."

He swallowed thickly. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her _so_ badly. The feeling was already woven into his soul, and it hurt him so much _not_ to say those three words that would no doubt bind them both together if he uttered them. But of course, the future Detective Satan was right, he shouldn't, and she shouldn't either. Even though they knew that they were both lying to each other. But at this point, Gohan figured, what was one more lie?

"Can I say 'like like' then?" He asked devilishly, pushing away his damning thoughts, "I mean it's more than 'like' and I'm not technically saying it…?"

Videl rolled her eyes at his charming smile, "Fine, whatever."

"I 'like like' you Videl," he spouted lovingly, like the besotted teenager he was, nuzzling his nose with hers and causing her to laugh, the tension dispersing into the humid fog of steam around them, "I mean _really_ 'like like'. I've never 'liked liked' any one before, Gods you're just so 'like-likeable', I mean I -!"

"Alright, alright!" She interrupted, her lips curled in annoyance though she was still quite clearly amused, "You can stop now."

Gohan pouted, "But I've not finished!"

Videl snorted with laughter at his wounded features, "Alright _fine_. But you're only going to end up boring yourself if you keep at it like this."

"Not possible," he scoffed, kissing her on the lips before continuing, "I 'like like' how breathtakingly beautiful you are, how you look at me when you're annoyed, how your eyes light up when you're fighting. I 'like like' how you feel, Gods I could just 'like like' the hell out of you right now -"

She shivered, even in the hot spring, as he smoothed his hands over her curves and captured her lips slowly and softly, drawing her closer towards him, their naked skin smooth and soft in the cleansing water.

"You _know_ ," Videl spouted after they had pulled apart, her fingers twirling around the wet hair at the base of his neck, "I 'like-like' you too."

"Y-You do?" he asked, feeling rather flushed now after their small snogging session. One of her toned, smooth legs had now found its way wrapped around his hip, backing him against the rock. The heat of the water felt as though it was at boiling point right now.

"Hmm, mmm," she said seductively, her sapphire eyes twinkling in delight as she brought her voice to a whisper, reaching up on her tiptoes, her lips tickling his ear, "Especially when you bend me over and shove your _big_ -"

" _VIDEL!"_ He squawked, beyond embarrassed as her subsequent cackles rang out over the cavernous walls.

The young saiyan scowled, as the Satan girl continued to laugh at the flabbergasted look he had given her. Though soon enough, he couldn't help but laugh along with her.

"I 'like like' how you blush so easily," she told him, kissing him again with an apologetic smile, "It's too cute for words."

"I am _not_ cute!" He protested, causing her to smirk.

"I 'like like' how you think that."

Gohan sighed, hopelessly giving in to her teasing, there really was no going back for him now, "And I 'like like' how utterly vulgar you are, even if you only do it to tease me."

Videl gave him a look that both frightened and intrigued him, raising an eyebrow towards him.

"You thought _that_ was vulgar?" She stated, before her lips curled into a wicked grin, "Oh wonder boy, you haven't seen _nothing_ yet."

He frowned in confusion, as with that the girl inhaled a deep breath before disappearing under the water, "What are you - ?" **_Oh…_**

The sentence died on his tongue, as his entire body tingled with pleasure, unable to stop the gasping moan that suddenly tumbled from his lips. He rested the back of his head against the rocky bed, holding onto a chunky jagged piece of rock as his knees threatened to buckle underneath him. She had literally made him weak at the knees, as the new sensation rippled through him in shockwaves of desire.

Gohan shut his eyes tightly, as the she-devil below the water continued to drive him absolutely wild. He briefly pondered just how long she could hold her breath for, until his mind began to cloud with lust and his brain threatened to completely stop functioning.

Videl certainly knew how to take his mind off of the cosmos' impending doom by all accounts. Although, he reasoned, before all notion of logical thought was lost to the abyss, his fingers grasping onto the girl's long wet locks underneath the water as he let out another shaky breath - that she really wasn't making it easy to forget about her.

* * *

 _20th June, 2019._

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 _A/N: And we end this chapter with a cheeky bit of sexy time! I hope you enjoyed it. I know Gohan did! (HA!) Seriously though I apologise for the lateness of the chapter, and I hope that it was really worth the wait! I am in the throws of the next chapter which I will reveal the title of, seen as you've all been so kindly patient! It is... **Chapter Twenty-Three - Achievement Unlocked: Divinity.** I hope you look forward to that! I know I am! Especially the drama! hehe! ES x_

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 **Reviews:**

 _ericsofly2: thank you very much!_

 _Magnanimous Architect: hopefully the next chapter will prove to be better with pacing onwards, I have taken a lot of time in the build up I know but once everything is set in stone itll be faster from here on out!_

 _Naite-Laef : eek! thank you that really means a lot! I hope youve enjoyed this chapter! xD_

 _romanovascap : thanks so much! Im excited for SSG too! I cant wait, hope you liked the chapter!_

 _Aaron Leach : thanks!_

 _Knightwing20042 : thank you! Im trying not to stretch this out longer than needed. your doctor strange made me laugh! Sorry, I just had to use it! hehe_

 _sitrukpc: thank you so much for your review! Ive actually had this question a lot, and Videl will NOT become a guide or anything divine, sorry to say. however, please do stay tuned to see how it will unfold, i am super excited for it!_

 _dspendragon125 : thanks so much! It means the world truly!_

 _: zamasu, like perses, is a master manipulator, and as you can see from this chapter majin magic is super duper powerful, so really zamasu pulled the wool over everyones eyes in this. Plus beerus and champa arent exactly the most observant of gods after all! As for SSG stay tuned!_

 _Pie 555: haha thank you! Goku and Chi-Chi are HUGE gohan and videl shippers, I want to capture this even more so later on haha. Also yes with Makhai and butt jokes! I REALLY sincerely hoped you liked Makhai in this chapter. He is so fun to write!_

 _Ushindeshi: thanks!_

 _Robthekiwi121: thank you :)!_

 _DeathReaper1011: thank you!_

 _HalfbreedSayian : thanks so much!_

 _Iwik : haha yay I love it when people quote things! I loved that line im really glad you did do! And yes to Gohan and Videl chemistry. I couldnt resist putting a little cave scene in here ;) they are so naughty! bad destoryer, bad! Really happy you liked Goku walking in on Gohan and Videl too! haha. oooh your questions, what do you think now after this chapter? are you any closer to figuring out what perses wished for? or have I just confused you more? :P_

 _Leafeon12: thank you! hope you enjoyed the chapter and the rest of the fight!_

 _o- Nyx -o: YAS GIRL! Im so excited to talk to you and hear your thoughts on this one!_

 _MadmanJrs: thanks for your review! The whole prophecy thing... hmm.. well like whis says, prophecies can change with the people that they are about Gohan isnt quite yet an official deity but hes not exactly mortal at this point either. even so maybe if the oracle read the prophecy again, maybe it changed slightly? :P something to think about! really hope you liked the gohan and videl tidbits here, especially at the end :P :O haha yes Gowasu being impressed by Gohan, I think all the gods would be to be fair, its been a while since they saw a prodigy such as him and so young too. Gowasu is rather simple too, he just likes to sit in his garden and drink tea bless him, he cant deal with all this drama! I feel as though he is the embodiment of british in super hahah_

 _FireEmblemMaster101: there is SO much Gohan and Videl naughtiness. They are teens after all and there is such an enormous amount of love and chemistry between them! yes thank you! Glad you liked the code names, more of Gohan and Makhai shenanigans to come! When I thought of the whole Goku giving Gohan the talk, i kind of imagined chichi forcing him into it too 'like gohan is getting older you need to tell him things youll be spending a year with him alone after all etc' and i think goku would be a little nervous about it too cuz lets be real here, he probably got 'the talk' from roshi and still learned nothing until chichi had to tell him stuff on his wedding night lmao and yes even though Zamasu is certainly a main villian, I wanted to get him exposed before the main event of Perses. hope it works well. as always thanks so much for your review! :)_

 _ToughChicken: wow thank you so much for such an amazing review! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter :)_

 _SSJ Green Gohan: Gohan will achieve divinity, as for Goku and Vegeta... wait and see!_

 _X3runner : oh ho ho! wait and see my good friend ;) but yes lots of fast physical development between gohan and videl. they havent got much time together after all so they are certainly using their time well :) id like to think that both Gohan and Zamasu are much stronger here than Goku and Zamasu's fight in super. Zamasu was pushed to use his full strength by Gohan, who is significally stronger than Goku at this point. hidden potential crossed with training under whis and lord beerus for eight years as well as energy of destruction._

 _GannicusG13 : thank you! I loved DBZ abridged, that quote just totally fit there I couldnt resist!_

 _Declan Campbell : ooooo I am thinking that this fight didnt plan out as what you thought. But Zamasu will get whats coming to him eventually ;) not much between Goten and Gohan in this chapter, but there will be more coming up I promise!_

 _fated1990: thanks so much! I really wanted to get Gohan's saiyaman persona into this story somewhere without him actually being saiyaman! Glad you enjoyed and yay thanks for watching my amv! :)_

 _Marbbles123: thank you! hope you enjoyed the fight! and Goku's cuteness. xD_

 _jomama25: eek thank you! :)_

 _x2leoj : maybeeeee_

 _Thundrfox: wow thank you so so much for your review. I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I am really grateful for your review and your support, I'm really in awe by your kind words. Thank you._

 _Hercule Satan: sorry Herc._

 _Beta117 : LOVE movies!_

 _dx-1118: thanks so much! I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter as much as you did the last!_

 _Hek'UnnSkipper : thanks for your review. Whis didnt notice Gohan and Videl's loving moment as he was waiting for Perses. There is a lot going on in the universe/cosmos right now, and Whis doesnt keep tabs on the junior GoD alllllll the time. it was kind of a coincidence that he saw them kissing the first time. He does trust Gohan not to do anything tooo stupid like break the rules and fall in love with a mortal after all... oh dear. hope you enjoyed chapter 22!_

 _Archie: thanks! yes absolutely, Gohan certainly struggles with himself here! Perses and Zamasu do have valid opinions on the multiverse, and Gohan is starting to realise that he has committed a fair few 'sins' on the way!._

 _Erin: thank you so much for your review! I hope you liked this chapter as much! :) Ah yes! Im a midwife too! haha I absolutely agree with you with peoples lack of knowledge of reproduction, especially in fanfiction it really makes me cringe. Its a great job but very demanding, especailly when trying to write a fanfiction hahaha I cant beleive that you were reading this in disneyland! holy hell! thank you! I do feel bad though interrupting your holiday hahah_

 _Whynot1993: thank you! hope the wait was worth it!_

 _RabbitMelody: yesssss! get beat zamasu! he will get it beaten more I promise._

 _DragonCrusader: thanks!_

 _Vegetasniece: wow seriously thank you so much for your kind review! Glad you enjoyed all of the chapters, and really hope this one was worth the wait too! :) I see what youre saying about Gohans hair! there is certainly a reason for this is will become clearer later on! I also get about the quotes, I have tried to tone it down in this chapter as I want my work to remain orignial :P hope it shows!_

 _tacktician: ooooh a Black arc? I wish I could say but I cant!_

 _Empyrean Asura : can confirm, author IS british! And yeah I caught onto the disdain, didnt realise it was the wrong one lol my bad! thanks for pointing it out, I will use the correct spelling in future :)_

 _Frb Tkz: ahhh thank you!_

 _KialDeyung: I LOOK INTO YOUR EYES AND THE SKIES THE LIMIT!_

 _Heseltine : thanks so much! hope you enjoyed the battle!_

 _KODIE A TRUE SUPER SAIYAN: thank you thank you thank you! hope the wait was worth it!_

 _JdbsjakfbskXbcb : hope the wait was worth it!_

 _romeroFan : ahhh you were SO CLOSE to guessing! hahaha thanks for your review! I would love to write an alternate 8 year gap along with majin buu one day, when I have time haha but I will strive to finish this story first! :)_


	23. Achievement Unlocked: Divinity

_A/N: LONGEST. CHAPTER. **EVER**. Nearly 29,000 words! :O! And I sincerely hope that every word is worth it! __I finished this on schedule too! Yay!_

 _This chapter has been a LONG time coming I am sure you will agree, I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. Now we are about to reach a pinnacle moment, I just want to thank you so much for all your love and support over the course of this story. I cannot believe just how much love this little fanfic of mine gets. You guys are amazing! How am I up to over 1400 followers?! To me its just insane. I am so happy that you enjoy it, something that I just write for fun and cannot thank you enough! I cant tell you how much I love reading your reviews too, it really makes my day._

 _This chapter is dedicated to all of you, what a journey it has been so far!_

 _ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Three**

 **Achievement Unlocked: Divinity**

 **Son Residence, Mount Paozu, Planet Earth - Three weeks later**

Time is a fickle thing, Whis had told him many years ago when he was all but a year into his Destroyer training. Sometimes there was never enough of it, and other times it stretched on endlessly. Gohan had never really understood what his mentor had meant by that back then, though he was certain that it had something to do with how much he could develop in such a short space of time should he continue to push both his body and mind to the limit. He was right, in a way. But the reality of the Angel's words had never struck him so profoundly until now.

The last three weeks had gone by in a blur, a whirlwind even, and as much as he wanted to savour every moment that he had back on Earth, the fickle mistress that was time appeared to have escaped him. He'd been given a second chance, a chance that he never thought he would get in all of his wildest dreams. And he had relished in it. He had spent time with his family and friends, those he thought he would never see again when he had first accepted to train to become the next Destroyer on Lord Beerus' world.

He had sparred and trained, laughed and reminisced with them all, tried to escape the sense of duty that hung over him like the sharp edge of a guillotine for but a moment, and pretend that his head didn't rest upon the chopping block. His days with them numbered.

He had fallen in love.

Now _that_ was a chance he had previously allowed to pass him by, for the sheer notion was surely impossible what with all the rules imposed on him as a junior deity. That was of course, until he had met Videl. And there seemed to be no rhyme nor reasoning to this wondrous predicament that he found himself in. Videl was just, _Videl_ and he had basked in every second that he spent with her, even though the guilt of what he was doing threatened to crush him.

He didn't want to imagine what would happen when he had to leave, or how he would even begin to hide his certain heartbreak away from Whis and Lord Beerus - or even if his heart would mend at all. How could he continue to exist without those beautiful sapphire eyes in his afterlife? Eyes that could see into his very soul, eyes that lit up with passion and longing, glint with amusement and mischief, exposing his vulnerabilities and pulling him into their depths to which he would gladly succumb to time and time again.

Every time he saw her, it was like the first time. And he wasn't talking about when they met at his grave when he had reappeared back on Earth after eight long years of absence. No, it was with a steady realisation that Gohan remembered dreaming about those very eyes in his first few weeks at the training camp after his death. Granted, his eleven year old self didn't quite understand just why that strange girl he had saved from Cell made his stomach give a funny jolt whenever her dazzling eyes popped into his mind.

Though now he understood. And he couldn't bare Videl being banished only to the deepest, most private parts of his mind once more.

Even though he was quite suitably dead, he felt parts of himself come alive at her touch. He couldn't get enough of her, her kisses, her laugh, her smile, her light driving out the darkness that welled within him. Whenever he was entangled in her embrace, it was as though everything else faded away. His task, his duty, his destiny, for he could see only her.

Just last night he and Videl had bathed together in the old metal tub outside of his family's cottage when his parents and brother were tucked up in bed. His family's sleeping Ki beating steadily as the hands on the kitchen clock ticked past the stroke of midnight.

The lovestruck teens had talked and laughed quietly under the myriad of stars that shone overhead, basking in one another's presence. The moonlight kissed their wet naked skin as they passionately savoured every second of their last night together. The young saiyan was incredibly surprised that they hadn't woken his family up, especially due to the fact that he had been so enthusiastic that he had accidentally tipped the entire tub over, causing an enormous crash that sent their entwined bodies as well as a cascade of steamy water spilling out onto the grass.

They had erupted into a fit of raucous giggles, both soaking wet and still panting from their interrupted coupling, which they had more than eagerly resumed in a forest clearing not too far away, the gentle summer breeze sweeping over them and the long grass brushing their bare skin as they finally fell asleep in each others arms. It was almost dawn when they had returned, sneaking in back through Gohan's bedroom window like the pair of giddy giggling teens that they were, sharing another flurry of heated kisses before Videl retired to the camp bed that his mother had set up for her in the living room.

She had been staying at the Sons all weekend in preparation for Bulma's birthday extravaganza, which would be held on a cruise ship docking at the Southern Isles before it cruised its way around the South Pacific Ocean. He wasn't entirely certain why Bulma had decided to go all out for her birthday this year. The thought did cross his mind that it may have been a _big_ birthday so to speak - though he thought it rude to ask.

Still, it was more than convenient that Bulma's birthday party just so happened to fall on the same day that he could finally summon Shenron, and thus make headway with the Super Saiyan God prophecy. The whole gang would be present for the celebration, and it would give Gohan one last hurrah with his family and friends before he had to leave them behind forever.

His heart was breaking apart already. For he knew that when the blanket of stars swept the Earth and day would succumb to night, then he would have to leave them for good. His adventures with Videl would come to an end and he would eventually take up the mantle of a fully fledged Destroyer like he was meant to, and hopefully save the cosmos from complete annihilation in the process.

There was still no hide nor hair of Zamasu, and by extension Perses. He had checked in with Whis via his communicator on occasion over the last few weeks, but it appeared as though the corrupted Kai's apprentice had vanished into thin air. According to his mentor, the alarm had been sounded throughout the cosmos, and Zamasu's misdeeds had indeed been taken incredibly seriously by The Grand Minister. The entire multiverse were on the lookout for the evil Kai, but still - nothing.

It was a wonder where Zamasu had gotten to, but alas, not even Gowasu had experienced anything untoward. His newly constructed realm in the tenth universe was being protected by The Supreme Guard who were also on high alert, flitting between his universe and theirs, continuing their search. Lord Beerus had awoken a few days ago, and was utterly furious that Zamasu had managed to escape. Gohan had yet to speak to him, and Whis had informed him that it was probably best that he didn't, for the God of Destruction was - _understandably_ \- a little tetchy at present.

Call him crazy, but the teenager couldn't help but feel a little grateful towards Zamasu by all accounts - although he would never admit it out loud. For despite the eerie calmness that was worryingly palpable throughout the universe, at least the Kai's disappearance had allowed Gohan to spend the last few precious moments with the ones he loved in peace.

Well, sort of.

 **THWACK!**

Gohan jumped, snapping out of his blissful slumber as something hard smacked him right over the head.

"OW! What the - ?!"

He sprang up, tears in his eyes as the blankets fell from his bare chest, his onyx eyes darting rapidly around his bedroom before settling on the culprit to his rude awakening.

His gaze narrowed.

"Mum and Dad said that it's time for breakfast," Goten told him cooly from where he stood at the side of his bed. He was already dressed, a pair of smart purple trousers with a matching blue and purple flannel shirt. Light and weightless for the heat of the day, the long sleeves protecting him from the relentless June sun.

The teenager scowled, rubbing his sore head, "Did you _have_ to hit me?"

His younger brother shrugged indifferently, resting the long wooden pole in his grasp upon his shoulder, "You wouldn't wake up."

"Is that the power pole?" Gohan asked, recognising his father's old weapon almost instantly, the red-painted wood unmistakable.

"Yep," he replied, his lips drawn into a thin line as he regarded him, "Dad gave it to me."

"Oh," the young Destroyer mustered awkwardly, the tension thick between the two brothers, "That's cool."

"Yeah, it is," said Goten, before spinning on his heel and exiting the bedroom, the door closing with a sharp snap behind him.

Gohan sighed begrudgingly, his estranged sibling had yet to warm up to him it appeared. Although they had been civil to one another over the past few weeks, they hadn't spent any real time together, not for want of Gohan trying mind you. Instead Goten would rather hang around with Trunks and Marron, and similarly didn't seem all that interested in him. His mother and father had noticed the strained relationship between them also, but had refrained from pushing it too far past eating together at meal times and the occasional finishing trip with their father.

For some reason, Goku had refrained from allowing Goten and Trunks from training together with them in the wastelands. Which was odd, considering that the halflings were already super saiyans. Though even Vegeta wasn't bothered by this development, stating that he had his own training for his son planned anyway, more than enough to defend himself should any trouble arise on Earth.

Still, the halfling supposed that it didn't really matter. After tonight he would be gone forever, and Goten could have their parents back all to himself.

The old bedsprings groaned and creaked under his weight as he lifted himself from the mattress, shaking his head as he did so. He was being childish after all, he shouldn't be getting jealous of an eight year old.

Once dressed and ready, Gohan made his way down the creaky staircase, where the tantalising smell of bacon and eggs awaited him. Stepping into the kitchen, he found that the rest of his family, along with Videl, were already seated.

Greeting them all a good morning and kissing his mother on the cheek, the young saiyan plopped himself in the empty chair opposite Videl, whose sapphire eyes practically danced at him as if to say - ' _I know what you did last night.'_

The young saiyan gave her a wicked grin back, _'I know, I was there. And if I recall correctly, you loved it.'_

She winked, the small exchange going unnoticed by his father and brother, who were both inhaling their breakfast like a pair of starved beasts.

"Bacon, Gohan? Videl?" His mother interrupted suddenly, giving them both a knowing smile.

"Uh, thanks," the teenagers flushed, lifting up their plates and accepting their fill from the metal prongs in Chi-Chi's hand before she bustled away from them. Her satisfied smile unwavering as she sat herself at the head of the table, taking a rather smug sip of her coffee as she continued to eye them.

"What time are we heading over to Bulma's, Chi-Chi?" asked Videl, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She was dressed for the sun that was for certain, high waisted denim shorts and a short red t-shirt that showed off her toned midriff and the black bikini underneath. It was enough to make Gohan drool.

He himself sported a pair of deep blue, knee length swimming trunks, along with a plain white t-shirt and a pair of sunglasses atop his head. The shirt clung to his muscular torso, and it was with delight did he notice how Videl had been unashamedly checking him out ever since he had entered the kitchen.

"Change of plan actually," the ox-princess replied, the sound of clinking plates and cutlery filling the air as Gohan too tucked into his breakfast, "I heard from Bulma this morning, she seemed rather stressed by all accounts. She asked everyone to meet at the cruiser instead, apparently its docked at an island not too far from Kame House."

"Did she say how the dragon radar was coming along?" Gohan quirked, swallowing his mouthful.

"I stopped by Capsule Corp. to see how things were going last night," his father informed him, pushing the mountain of empty plates away from him and tapping his full belly in satisfaction, "She yelled at me and threw a screw driver at my head. So er, not too good I suppose."

The teenager let out a defeated sigh. He was hoping that Bulma would have finished the universal dragonball radar before he had to leave, but it appeared to be even more complex a task than he had originally thought - even for her.

He knew full well that the blue-haired scientist would not stop until it was finished, however long it took. Gohan could always come back at retrieve the finished product at a later date of course, he was certain that Whis and Lord Beerus wouldn't mind if it was going to help them in their cause to outsmart Zamasu, though it would probably be too dangerous for him to do so - especially if he bumped into Videl. He would have to ask a member of The Supreme Guard to pick it up in his place instead.

Chi-Chi tutted at his father, "It's your own fault Goku. You know full well not to interrupt her when she's working - "

He frowned as the conversation unfolded around him. Despite everything, his family were acting so… _normal_. As if this wasn't the last day that they would get to spend with him forever. Did they know that he was going to summon the Eternal Dragon today? They must do, the countdown to his leave was obvious after all, inevitable. But all the same, Gohan didn't really want to draw their attention to it. He would rather them enjoy this last day with him and celebrate Bulma's birthday like they should, not succumb to the solemn shadows that seemed to await in the corners of the room, threatening to engulf them should anyone even so much as mention the reality of what the end of the day would bring.

Though now, just as the thought crossed his mind, did he see it. The way his mother's eyes would keep glancing to him, as though trying to drink as much of him in as possible whilst she still could. He could see it in the way his father's smile had a slight crook to it that wasn't there before, as though it was forced and somewhat painful. He noticed how Goten was even colder towards him than usual, keeping his head bowed over his plate and barely making eye contact with him.

He realised how Videl's touch lingered under the table, how her fingertips reached to brush his knee, and not in the usual teasing, suggestive manner. No, it was calm and soothing, as though she wanted to savour the feel of him, and in turn let him know that she never wanted him to forget her touch.

His chest suddenly felt heavy, as if his heart had turned into a swinging solid brick, weighting him down and battering against his insides. Could he really leave them all like this? Without them knowing what he really was? Believing that he was some golden child - _wonder boy_ , that protected the entire universe from peril when in reality he had a hand in its destruction?

The self-sabotaging feelings swirled around him much like Eris' devastating twister of doom, the violent tornado sweeping him up and threatening to plunge him into the dark abyss of his mind. The conflict raged within himself for quite some time, following him all the way to the Southern Isles, where the entire Z-gang were awaiting them on the biggest cruise ship that Gohan had ever seen.

At least thirty foot towered from waterline to rail, spanning a hefty chunk of the harbour in length, the aptly named _Princess Bulma_ glittered in the high sun. Pristine white in colour, and housing numerous cabins that the large gang would accommodate tonight after he had left to continue his own voyage beyond the stars. Canvas deck chairs lined the large wooden deck, along with numerous glorious smelling food stalls with friendly waiting staff handing out copious amounts of champagne as they boarded.

A full length swimming pool sat proudly in the centre of the deck, the blazing sun reflecting off of its stagnant surface before it was quickly disturbed by Goten, Trunks and Marron enthusiastically dive-bombing into it, a yapping Bee swiftly joining them much to their amusement. The subsequent scolding of their mothers seemed to be lost on the excited trio, as well as drowned out by the party music that played from the numerous speakers set up near a makeshift stage. Gohan had even heard rumours of a band playing later, as well as a rather extravagant game of bingo.

An enormous banner hung above centre stage, with the words _'Happy Birthday Bulma!'_ embodied into the fabric in royal blue lettering. Colourful bunting and streamers were tied to the rungs of the ship, along with a multi-tiered iced cake atop one of the buffet tables. Oh yes, Bulma had most certainly gone all out for the occasion.

The ship set off once they were all accounted for, and glided through the calm waters as though it was floating on air. The _whoosh_ of the cruiser accompanied the hearty rounds of laughter that rang all around him, sounds of sizzling barbecue, catchy music and chinking glasses raised in salute as toast to the birthday girl.

It was all very surreal, Gohan thought, as the loving, cheerful atmosphere buzzed around him, the Z-gang so happy and carefree, dressed in their summer clothes and lounging in the afternoon sun - though he made sure to stay clear of Majin Buu, and he him. As another round of jovial laughter rang around him, it was as though everyone had just _forgotten_ that he was leaving today. Or trying very hard to ignore it.

"Isn't she amazing?!" Bulma spouted after he had embraced her and wished her a Happy Birthday. She leaned a little heavily on his shoulder in order to straighten herself, a half-drunken glass of champagne in her hand - she was already on her third or fourth glass, much to Vegeta's agitation.

"It certainly is grand Bulma," his mother replied, in awe of their surroundings, he doubted that she or his father had ever been on a cruise ship before, "You must have gone through a lot of trouble to make all of this happen."

"Ah it was no trouble at all!" The blue-haired heiress winked back, nudging her scowling husband in the ribs, "Besides, only the best will do for your princess, eh Vegeta?"

The hard-faced saiyan scoffed beside her, dutifully yet rather begrudgingly holding an opened bottle of champagne that he had apparently been commanded to use to fill up her glass whenever he saw it getting empty.

"It's a pointless display," said Vegeta, his eyebrows knitted closely together, "I don't understand why you Earthlings even bother to celebrate the year of your birth. And _you've_ already celebrated forty -"

"OH! Would you look at that!" Bulma interjected rather swiftly, smacking the man hard upside the head, and pointing frantically at something over the deck, "I think I just saw some dolphins! Lets go Vegeta!"

"You _dare_ to strike me - !" He started to growl.

" _NOW_!"

Chi-Chi giggled, shaking her head as Bulma pulled her sulking husband away and grabbed her own by the arm, "Come on Goku, let's dance."

"Aw but _Chi-Chi_!" the man whined, "I wanted to go to the buffet table first!"

The ox-princess rolled her eyes, "You've already eaten your body weight in breakfast. _One_ dance and then you can eat all you like!"

"Fine," Goku pouted, before looking towards him, "You coming son?"

"Nah I'll sit this one out," he replied with a small smile, realising that he had lost sight of Videl after boarding, "I'll catch you two up later."

Quickly brushing off the small spark of disappointment that had appeared within his parents eyes, the young saiyan ventured off in search of Videl, catching sight of Dende relaxing in a deck chair by the pool and giving him a short wave as he went.

The young Guardian of Earth had been instructed to bring along the dragonballs that Gohan had collected weeks ago. Although he was glad that Dende had managed to get a rare afternoon off his duties by bringing them here, the halfling felt a sickening pang in his chest as to his old friends presence. He had already decided that he would make his wish after everyone had gone to bed, he didn't want any one to see him disappear after he had made it, no matter how curious they were, else he might not be able to bring himself to leave.

He singled out Videl's Ki in no time, finding it hovering towards the stern of the ship. He stopped as he reached her, for she seemed deep in thought. Her long raven hair whipped about her in the salty wind, free of its pigtails for the occasion, her features stoic and solemn almost, as she remained unaffected by the foamy spray that sprinkled though the air. It bubbled relentlessly from the propeller several feet below her as the ship pushed on, the disturbed ocean waves crashing against the hull.

The young woman breathed in the fresh salty air deeply, her hands grasping onto the cool metal rail so hard that it made her knuckles turn white. Her eyes closed as if in silent prayer, paying no mind to the beautiful vastness of the sparkling sea that stretched out towards the horizon in the distance.

His stomach jolted at the captivating sight of her, butterflies performing somersaults against his gut. He walked towards her slowly, tentatively, making sure that no one was around before he brushed her long hair from her back and gently kissed the soft skin of her neck.

Videl did not jump, nor was easily started by his presence. Instead, she hummed pleasantly in her throat, craning her neck ever so slightly to the side, allowing Gohan's rough lips to continue teasing her collarbone, his arms snaking around her waist and drawing her closer to him from behind, her glorious curves pressed all against him.

"Just who do you think you are?" she asked him playfully, her breath coming up short, shuddering with longing as he pushed her a little harder up against the rails, one hand reaching cheekily under her shirt and caressing the softness underneath, "S-sneaking up on me like that?"

"Someone who would very much like to continue where we left off last night," he found himself saying, lust clouding his brain once more, his lips against her bare skin causing her chest to heave in anticipation. The sudden tightness below his waistband making itself known as he brushed his hips eagerly against her.

"Really now?" Videl quirked, a bark of laughter escaping her, though her voice quaked ever so slightly, "We're in a public place. I could get you arrested for indecent exposure, you know."

Gohan snorted disbelievingly, removing his mouth from her throat and making to untie the string of her bikini around her back, "I'd like to see you try."

She whipped around suddenly, causing him to retract his hands from their current mission and instead rest them on her hips. Videl raised an eyebrow in challenge, smirking as she pushed an accusatory finger into his muscular chest, " _You_ Son Gohan, have the right to remain silent."

"Oh really? I hope there's a search involved," The halfling's lips curled into a wicked grin, before lowering his voice to a whisper, "Though I must warn you, I have a concealed weapon."

Videl almost laughed - _almost_ , but kept her eyes fierce, "In that case, I'm going to have to confiscate it."

"Ouch, that sounds brutal."

To his delight, the girl's response came to him in a bombardment of heated kisses, slowly backing him up against the opposite wall that led to the cabins. He moaned into her mouth, eagerly deepening the kiss that caused his head to spin from the captivating sensations that he just couldn't seem to get enough of.

It was dangerous, he knew that, and in reality they probably should be winding down what with his upcoming departure. But at that moment, Gohan failed to care as her hands smoothed under his t-shirt, fingertips brushing over his hard abs before reaching towards the waistband of his swimming shorts. The moment was heating up all too quickly, their hot breaths intermingling as they continued to tease one another, even though they knew that anyone could walk around their secluded little corner and easily catch them in the act.

He quashed the annoying voice of reason as quickly as it had come, pulling Videl further against him and grasping at her rear through her denim shorts, retreating his lips from hers and trailing across her jaw, back to her neck and causing her to groan with ecstasy.

The sounds of the party seemed to grow even more distant, as Videl's bikini top slowly began to unravel, allowing Gohan's hands to become more daring in their stride, wishing nothing more than to rip those shorts right off of her. He didn't realise that the girl in his embrace had suddenly stopped moaning, or that her breath had become a little more laboured than before. What he did notice though, was the salty wetness that trailed into their entwined mouths, hitting his tongue and causing to pull back in alarm.

"Videl?" He mustered, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he realised that she was crying, the track marks streaking down her flushed cheeks too unmistakable to miss, "Videl, why are you crying?"

"Oh _Kami,_ " she sniffed, suddenly embarrassed as she hurriedly wiped her eyes, "Shit, sorry, I-I didn't - "

"Why are you crying?" The halfling pressed again worriedly, grabbing her hands and running his thumb lovingly over the back of her palms, "Gods Vi, please _please_ don't cry. I hate it when you cry…"

Videl shook her head, feeling silly, though still couldn't quite look him in the eye, "You're really going to do it today, aren't you?"

Gohan stopped short, as though he had been punched in the gut and all of the air had been expelled from his lungs.

"I-I -," he started, beginning to explain, though she already knew. He had told her last night before she suggested they take a bath together in the old tub in the garden.

He all but nodded in response, causing her to let out a shaky breath.

"I know you have to," she said, "I've even counted down the days, but I didn't expect it to be this hard."

He stared at her for a moment, the heat evaporating suddenly and leaving nothing but a cold chill that brushed between them. He let go of her hands, pulling her to him instead in a fierce hug and allowing her to bury her face into his chest. Her arms encircled him tightly, as he reached up and stroked her hair, planting a lingering kiss on the raven silk and closing his eyes to stop his own tears that threatened to build.

"D-do you think that your guardian angel would go berserk if you postponed it for a few more days?" She asked lightly, her voice muffled by the cotton fabric of his t-shirt. Though the answer was clear.

"I'm sorry Vi," The young saiyan smiled sadly, using the cute nickname he had so lovingly bestowed upon her weeks ago, "but we've always known that it would come to this."

"I know," she sighed, breathing him in, her fists clutching at his shirt, "But it doesn't make it any easier."

He kissed her hair again. He was so sad. So unbearably sad. He didn't want to wake up from this, this captivating dream that he found himself in whenever he was with Videl. It was almost like a reverse nightmare, in that instead of waking up from one, where there's a sudden rush of relief and tranquility, it was the opposite. As though he was about to wake up and be propelled into a nightmare that he could never snap out of.

He didn't want to leave her. And because he _had to_ , he wanted - no **_needed_** to say it.

"Videl, I -," he began, when her head snapped up suddenly, her beautiful eyes shining with a clattering storm of emotion.

"Don't," she said definitely, knowing all to well what he was about to say, "Don't say it, Gohan. I-I can't - ."

The young saiyan swallowed his words, and they tasted like poison going back down. His heart screamed at him to tell her just how much every fibre of his being ached for her, to tell her the whole truth of what he was. But he couldn't.

Instead, he leaned down and kissed her. Hard, desperately, telling her just how much he loved her through his very actions. Hoping that she knew, praying that she would always know. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was, to explain _everything_ , but he held his tongue and hoped that with every kiss that he bestowed upon her that she would forgive him for not saying.

Videl sighed longingly into his embrace, her fingers breaching his hair and running through the thick spikey mane. They were against the wall again, clinging to each other desperately and just drew back for air when they heard a small noise behind them, sneakers skidding on the wooden deck as the person to whom they belonged careened to a halt in shock.

The teenagers broke apart suddenly, and Gohan's eyes widened in horror as he realised that they had been caught red-handed. Though silently thanked his lucky stars that he and Videl hadn't gone any further.

Yamcha stood before them with a cocktail in his hand - complete with a loud pink umbrella and other sparkly paraphernalia, his mouth falling open at the sight of the entangled young couple, before his lips quirked into an approving smile.

"Nice," he nodded towards the halfling, giving him a wink that resembled one that a proud uncle might bestow upon a wayward nephew, sipping smugly at the swirly straw in his glass, "I'll just… leave you two crazy kids to it."

The young saiyan spluttered blindly, unable to find his voice as he watched him go, retreating back to the party with a knowing grin plastered across his face.

"Oops," Videl giggled, as Gohan finally came to his senses and frowned back at her.

"There is no way that we are going back there for at _least_ another ten minutes," he told her firmly, his cheeks burning bright crimson. Knowing the gossip queen that was Yamcha, he would have taken to the stage with a microphone and announced to the entire party what he had just stumbled upon.

"You worry about what other people might think too much," she told him, smiling wickedly, "So what if he blabs to everyone that he caught us snogging? At least your mum will be pleased."

"She'll be bloody beside herself is what she'll be," Gohan sighed, rolling his eyes in despair, remembering how the romance-crazed woman had wanted to marry her dead son off to Videl, and secretly still probably did, "And I _wanted_ to spend my last few hours on Earth in peace too."

The Satan girl chuckled darkly, reaching up on her tiptoes and giving him a long kiss on the lips, "You'll be getting no peace from me, wonder boy."

"Is that a promise?" he mumbled against her mouth, momentarily forgetting his embarrassment as his tongue teased hers before she pulled away with a smirk.

"Come on," said Videl, pulling him by the arm, "Let's head back there and see if we can do some damage control."

As it turned out, Gohan didn't have to perform no such thing, for - oddly - the Z-gang refrained from teasing or pestering the pair about it. At first, he thought that the ex-bandit had actually kept quiet about the encounter, that was until he noticed how the adults kept glancing at them on occasion, and it was incredibly difficult to ignore the wolfish grins sent their way - namely from Krillin, Yamcha and his own _parents_ of all people.

Luckily, the rapidly building Gohan and Videl fan club remained respectful of the situation, and he couldn't help but think that it was due to the fact that he only had a few hours left on Earth to enjoy. He just prayed that his father would be just as tactful and refrain from telling them about walking in on them after their first night together.

Ignoring the knowing gestures that continued to shoot his way, the young saiyan made headway for the food stalls whilst Videl went to help Eighteen and Marron find the ladies restroom. Piling his plate high with all of his favourite Earth delicacies which he was also certain to miss, he sought out a quiet table in the corner of the deck, finding himself enjoying the welcoming solitude for a moment under the shade of the large umbrella.

Gohan smiled, as he felt the presence of his old mentor behind him before he had chance to speak, "Hullo Piccolo."

"Hey kid," the Namekian greeted, the sound of metal scraping against the wooden deck as he pulled up a chair next to him, setting down a cool glass of iced water upon the linen covered table.

They sat in silence for a while, relishing in each others presence just like old times. It was comfortable, even though no words were spoken between them, and if Gohan closed his eyes then he could just imagine himself meditating with Piccolo in the mountains like he did as a young boy.

He liked the spring best, when the baby birds chirped sweetly and the flowers had just begun to bloom. Cool, crisp mornings where the dew drops clung to the long blades of grass in the meadow below them. As the clouds swept a path above, he could always feel his mind clearing, as though the fluffy white clouds had been in his head all along and they had filtered out of his ears and into the sky, his troubles and worries evaporating into the air and disappearing into the atmosphere.

Piccolo always had that affect on him. He helped to ground him, to curb his emotions when they threatened to bubble over time and time again. His old mentor had always reprimanded him for it after all, and even now Whis had picked up on the fact that his actions, fighting or otherwise, were fuelled by his feelings - especially when he couldn't control them.

"Your mind is clouded," Piccolo said finally, watching him as he finished the last morsel of food from his plate.

Gohan looked towards him, putting down his knife and fork as the wise son of Namek spoke again, giving him no chance to reply.

"When are you going to summon the Eternal Dragon?"

He sighed, "Later. I don't know, I'd rather not do it in front of everyone."

"Probably wise," he said knowingly, folding his arms across his chest. Unlike the rest of the gang, Piccolo hadn't made an effort to change out of his gi and into swimming trunks or a loud Hawaiian shirt. After all, like a true warrior, Piccolo was always ready for battle, always waiting, always watching. His long white cloak draped over the side of his chair and his turban perched atop his head, protecting his green skin from the relentless sun.

The silence engulfed them again, though it was less comfortable than before.

"Do you think they - ?" Gohan started, though his old mentor cut across him just as quickly.

"Yes, they know Gohan," said Piccolo, beetle black eyes surveying him intently, "Everyone does. But it's better to celebrate rather than mourn in these circumstances, I'm sure that you'd rather the former."

"Y-Yeah," he mustered, "You're right. Sorry."

The strong Namekian tutted in disapproval, "You have nothing to be sorry for. You're just doing your job."

"Not very well," he said glumly, drumming his fingers on his glass of cold lemonade, the ice already rapidly melting in the heat, "It's been weeks and I'm still no closer to stopping Zamasu, we don't even know where he is."

Piccolo frowned, "You'll be one step closer to obtaining divinity after tonight, and that's got to help your cause. You sabotaging your progress so far isn't doing you any favours. I don't have to tell you again just how annoying that shit is. So stop wallowing before I _make_ you, junior deity or not."

The teenager couldn't help but chuckle at that, memories of training with his former master springing forth, "You know, I never got to say thank you before I died."

"Thank you?" He blinked in confusion, "For what?"

"For being there," said Gohan, smiling up at him, "For training me, protecting me, calling me out when I was self-destructing and making me stronger for it. Hell, you pretty much raised me Piccolo."

He stared, his features stoic yet his eyes curious, as the halfling continued, "I used to think ' _why me_ ', you know? Like, why did all this horrible shit always happen to me? Getting kidnapped, fighting for my life, watching the people I loved die around me. Why did _I_ have to be the only one who had the strength to defeat Cell? Why was it me who was blessed with all of this power and not anyone else?"

"Gohan -," Piccolo started, but he did not let him interrupt.

"But in the end, after everything that's happened, and that includes me dying, I don't think that I would have changed any of it," he said somewhat sadly, "I had friends that loved me like a big family, ones that would do anything for me. My parents too, who gave me everything that they could, fought tooth and nail and protested for me to have a better life than what they had. But I didn't just _have_ two parents, I had three."

Piccolo's head inclined towards him, listening, his eyebrows raised.

"I mean, I know that I joked that you were like my big green uncle," Gohan laughed, as the Namekian's lips twitched into a small, yet nostalgic smile, "But really, you were so much more, you were like another dad. And what kid is lucky enough to get a mum and _two_ dads?"

He bristled uncomfortably at the halfling's words, though his cheeks were flushed, his eyes holding an emotion that Gohan knew was only reserved for him. And that was enough.

"It's why I cant tell them," the young Destroyer sighed, looking out at the small crowd across the deck, "I can't tell them what I am before I go. It might ruin everything."

The Namekian cleared his throat, "You don't know that."

"No, I don't," said Gohan, looking down at his scarred and calloused hands, "And that's what scares me the most. At least that when I go, I'll leave them believing that I'm doing something good in the universe."

"You _are_ doing something good," said Piccolo, placing a reassuring hand on his hair, "You're just confused right now, what with spending all this time being back here. But deep down, you know that becoming a Destroyer was the right thing to do, without them the universe would cease to exist. If it wasn't right, then you wouldn't have accepted the role in the first place. I have never doubted you Gohan, so you shouldn't doubt yourself."

He felt like a boy again, as his old mentors long fingers brushed through his ebony locks, the sharp nails carefully tracking over his scalp so as not to break the skin. His touch so gentle for such a hardened warrior.

"Thanks Piccolo," he told him, his voice breaking slightly, "I'll… I'll really miss you, you know."

"I'll miss you too kid," he smiled back, a rare smile that was wide enough to show off his fangs, "I wish I could have done more to help."

"You've done plenty," said Gohan, "And you can carry on protecting the Earth from Zamasu until we manage to capture him."

Piccolo sighed, his hand retracting back to rest on the arm of his chair. _But it's not enough_.

"I just wish that I didn't have to leave so soon," the young saiyan said again, his gaze cast back out over the deck once more, where he spotted Videl laughing with Launch and his mother on a nearby table, the musical sound reaching his ears in a soothing symphony that caused his useless heart to strain to flutter.

"The universe is at stake, Gohan," his old mentor said wisely, following his stare.

"I know," he mustered, "It's just - "

"Videl?"

"Yeah," he replied, without thinking, until Piccolo raised an eyebrow at him, "W-wait! I mean er - I - I don't - I didn't mean - !"

The Namekian rolled his eyes as he continued to splutter, "Being subtle isn't exactly your strongest quality, kid. And I'm not just talking about the fact that Yamcha announced to everyone that you were both canoodling at the back of the ship earlier. It's been obvious for a while that you're mating with her."

"WHAT?!" Gohan gaped, his jaw hitting the floor, "H-How did-?! _M-mating_?! **_Piccolo_**!"

Piccolo all but scoffed, wrinkling his nose in mild disgust, as the halfling's outburst all but confirmed his suspicions.

"P-Piccolo I -!" He tried desperately, his face heating up considerably as he attempted to explain himself, when an excitable shout cut through the air.

"Oi Gohan! Come over here for a second would you?!" Bulma called, waving enthusiastically at him over the other side of the ship, before disappearing around the corner of one of the food stalls.

 _Thank you Bulma_ , the teenager thought gratefully, hurriedly getting up from his seat and turning towards his former mentor, "Looks like Bulma wants me for something, I-I've er, got to go, and leave this conversation immediately."

Piccolo all but smirked at his flustered demeanour, "You do that."

" _Gods_ Piccolo, you are SO _embarrassing_ right now!" Gohan snarled, cheeks burning as he stomped angrily away from him. _Mating?! Seriously Piccolo?!_ He seethed with mortification at the use of alien lingo, he would rather the man had the decency to use the proper Earthling word for it at least!

He made a beeline for Bulma, who he found leaning against the railings of the ship, now on her fifth or sixth glass of bubbly. Vegeta accompanied her, his face paler than he had ever seen it, his lips drawn into a thin line and his hands positively trembling - so much so that the bottle of champagne he was holding nearly slipped from his grasp. The saiyan prince looked so stunned that he didn't even seem to care that his wife was shamelessly flirting with the two oddly dressed newcomers before them.

The young saiyan stopped short, his mouth falling open in shock - _Just how long had THEY been here?!_

"Gohan, you never told me how nice your friends were!" Bulma giggled, giving Lord Beerus a wink, her words slightly slurred, "So, you said that you train Gohan or something?"

He was utterly dumbfounded, as Lord Beerus, in all his Destroyer glory, smiled back pleasantly, "That's correct Madam, although it is Whis here that does the majority of the training. I am the boy's superior and predecessor."

"Wow so you're like an _actual_ God then?" The blue-haired genius cooed, ignoring Vegeta's sudden snarl of ( _"Will you_ ** _shut up_** _, woman?!")_ "Well, isn't that something. You know, we always knew that our little Gohan would grow up to be something special."

"Oh give me a break," Vegeta muttered under his breath, though quickly snapped his mouth shut as the God of Destruction all but glanced in his direction.

"How charming," said Whis, before casting his eyes over to the young saiyan in question, "Oh hello Gohan, you're looking rather summery."

"What are you two doing here so early?" he hissed, folding his arms haughtily across his chest. This was all he needed.

"Wondering why _you_ aren't a Super Saiyan God yet," Lord Beerus glowered, "Have you summoned the Earth's Eternal Dragon?"

"Well, no but - "

"Then stop stalling boy," he snapped, "What in Zalama's holy name are you playing at?"

"I'm not _stalling_ ," the teenager griped, "It's just that it's Bulma's birthday and - "

"Ah yes, Prince Vegeta's wife," the Destroyer observed, eyeing the couple before him, "A fine example of the female species that any prince would be lucky to take as his bride."

"T-Thank you my Lord," Vegeta managed to stutter, bowing his head in thanks as Bulma blushed deeply.

"Aw come off it!" She chimed, though was lapping up the compliment for all it was worth, "Hey, I've got a good idea! Why don't you stick around for the party?"

Gohan and Vegeta's eyes widened simultaneously as they chorused, "That is NOT a good idea!"

"Why not?" Bulma scoffed, "Don't be so rude you two. There's plenty of food to go around, and they'll be dancing and a bingo tournament later. You should stay and let your hair down for a while before you have to go back and do boring old God stuff!"

Vegeta looked as though he was about to strangle his wife, until Lord Beerus interrupted -

"Food you say?" He said with interest, "My, my what a generous offer Earth woman, you've peeked my interest. To be quite honest with you, my nose has been tantalised by the most intriguing aromas since we came aboard, and unfortunately the boy has selfishly offered us only a sample of Earth's delicacies so far."

His gaze narrowed dangerously at Gohan as he finished, prompting the halfling to roll his eyes.

"Oh go on then," Whis chuckled guiltily, "It appears that you have twisted my arm."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Bulma gushed, wrapping her arm around Lord Beerus' bicep and linking with Whis, pulling them both towards the main throng of the party - causing Vegeta to squeak in panic.

In all honesty, the young saiyan would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious.

"Wait, Lord Beerus!" Gohan called, and halting them in their tracks, "Y-You don't have to stay, _really_! I know! I can get one of the venders to put some food in a box for you and you can take it home! I'll catch you up later - !"

" _Uh oh_ , who invited the party pooper?" Bulma jested, "What's gotten into you kiddo? It'll be nice for everyone to meet your teachers!"

"Yes Gohan," Whis quipped, "After all, nobody likes a pooper of parties."

"I don't even know where to begin to tell you what was wrong with that sentence," he deadpanned, as his predecessor scoffed.

"You'd do well do be quiet brat," he said, his long ears twitching in the pleasant salty air, "Ah yes, it _would_ be rather nice to unwind for a few hours after all this Zamasu business. Or _do_ I have to remind you of that fact?"

The teenager clamped his mouth shut, scowling as he continued, "It'll give you time to get your affairs in order whilst we accept Princess Bulma's most gracious invite and await the Dragon's summoning."

"Oh you're too kind!" Bulma practically swooned, calling out to her friends in the distance, " _Princess_! Hehe, hey Chi-Chi do you hear this-?!"

Gohan sighed in defeat, as Whis winked back as if to say, _'Don't worry, we won't tell.'_

It was a good job too, he thought, giving him a small yet grateful smile back. He would rather his superiors not let on to the fact that he was a Destroyer. Similarly, he would rather Whis and Lord Beerus remain oblivious to what he had been getting up to with Videl during his stay on Earth. Speaking of, he was rather miffed that he couldn't just sneak off with her now for want of keeping an eye on the divine duo.

Vegeta had every right to be nervous, it would not to well for anyone or anything to set the cantankerous kitty-cat off.

"I'll warn you now, brat," The saiyan prince spoke lowly, as he watched Bulma happily introduce them to the rest of the gang, "If Lord Beerus gets angry and decides to blow me up along with this miserable planet, then I'll _kill_ you."

The halfling opened his mouth to reply, when his father's cheery voice reached their ears.

"Woah, are you two really Gohan's mentors?!"

Vegeta's eyes widened to the size of saucers, shoving him roughly in the back, "Oh _FUCK_ no! Stop him quickly before he dooms us all!"

He did as he was told, hurriedly making to intercept his father as the gang gathered around the new arrivals. Dende was positively sweating bullets as he stared unblinkingly at the God of Destruction, who all but smirked back knowingly, eyeing the young Namekian's ceremonial garb. Piccolo had risen from his chair, his jaw clenched tightly as he too caught sight of them.

Gohan was glad that only Vegeta, Piccolo and Dende knew of Lord Beerus' true nature, or else it he was certain that it would be utter pandemonium. Though the young saiyan was indeed too late to intercept his father, as Goku bounded up to them with an infectious smile, vigorously shaking their hands, much to their bewilderment.

"Kakarot are you _insane_?!" Vegeta snapped harshly, causing the man to freeze, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Catching on, his father gasped, and quickly bowed his head in an exaggerated show of respect, "Oops! I am so sorry your sir-ness! I am most grateful that you have graced this vessel with your might and - and - godly… face! It is a present for you to meet me in the skin - er flesh! - How was that Vegeta?"

The saiyan blinked, and blinked again, as Gohan bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing.

"You know what, I take it back," Vegeta told him, his lips curling into a smirk, "He can carry on all he likes. This is **gold**."

"Er, Goku? What are you doing?" asked Tien disbelievingly, as Whis and Lord Beerus too attempted to hide their laughter.

"Well," he shrugged, straightening up again, "King Kai always told me to be respectful in the presence of Gods. He said that if I'm not careful that one might take it the wrong way should I ever meet them and destroy me. He never did tell me who though…"

Gohan sweated, as Lord Beerus smirked ominously, "And he'd be right."

"So are you like, a real life Angel?" His father continued, looking Whis up and down curiously.

"That is correct," Whis smiled, as the man frowned.

"But you weren't what I expected at all," said Goku, "I mean, I only saw your face before. I thought that Angels were little winged babies with their butts hanging out."

The teenager snorted along with Lord Beerus, the pair of them trying and failing to contain their mirth as Whis pursed his lips in annoyance, clearly unimpressed.

"Hardly."

Luckily, Krillin chose that moment to intervene, carrying a large tray full of delicious looking dough-balls, "Do you two want to join us? We were just about to play Russian-roulette takoyaki!"

"Oh?" Lord Beerus quirked, recovering swiftly from his chortling as the glorious smell wafted towards his nostrils, "What is this?"

The young saiyan gaped in horror, he had seen this game being played on numerous occasions at get togethers with the Z-gang. This could _not_ end well.

"It's a party game!" The short warrior explained happily, "The way it works is that most of these batter balls are filled with a tasty filling, but there's one that has a _bucket load_ of wasabi inside instead and you won't know until you eat it!"

"Er Krillin," Gohan started tentatively, "I don't think - "

"It seems as though it is in the spirit of the occasion to try our luck, my Lord," said Whis, lowering his head and sniffing lightly at the wonderful aroma, "And it does look and smell quite delectable."

"Exactly!" Krillin grinned, as Vegeta cut across him.

"Of all the _stupid_ \- !" He growled, starting forwards and glaring at him, "No! We are NOT playing your childish game! Are you that _thick skulled_?!"

Poor prince, he looked as though he was about to explode from the stress of it all, especially when the Destroyer narrowed his gaze towards him, "Now, is that really the way to act on your wife's birthday Prince Vegeta? Especially when she has been so kind to accommodate us."

Vegeta stuttered, visibly paling as Lord Beerus spoke dangerously, "And I would watch your tone in a God's presence if I were you."

"He's right Vegeta," his father chuckled, clapping him on the back, oblivious to how green he suddenly looked, "Lighten up, would you? It's only a game."

 _Yeah, a game that could end up with the world exploding if he picks the hot one,_ Gohan thought bitterly, as his predecessor inspected the tray Krillin was holding.

"Hmm, I've never heard of this ' _wasabi_ ' you speak of," He frowned, resting a hand on his chin in thought, "But this roulette aspect adds a fascinating mystery, and Whis is right in that visually it is quite pleasing."

"That drizzled topping reminds me of the ultra sweet black-fruit sauce on Planet Bana," said Whis, "Although it doesn't smell nearly as potent, at least we won't have to worry about Gohan getting sick this time."

"As long as it's not alcoholic," Lord Beerus hummed in agreement.

The gang turned to the young saiyan curiously, who scowled at his superiors in response.

"Well, what the boy has brought us from Earth thus far hasn't displeased me yet," the Destroyer reasoned, picking up a fork and stabbing one of the balls lightly, "So why not? I'll volunteer to take the first bite!"

Gohan's eyes widened. _Shit!_

"Yeah! Go Beerus!" A resounding chorus sounded, cheering the deity on.

It was as though it was happening in slow motion, as Lord Beerus salivated, the tasty treat mere millimetres from his lips and the fate of the planet resting on his temper. He reached out his tongue to lick at the sauce that threatened to drip onto his claws, his jaws opening wide when suddenly time sped up again, and a black-haired blur knocked the takoyaki right out of his hand.

Gohan skidded on the other side of the deck with lightening speed, grasping a hold of Lord Beerus' fork as Vegeta, Piccolo and Dende let out a collective sigh of relief.

"You snooze, you lose!" He grinned back cheekily, waving the treat mockingly in between his fingers.

The God of Destruction was livid, as he watched the halfling stuff the snack into his mouth, swallowing it whole - much to the shock of everyone present.

"You _brat_!" He roared, swiping Whis' sceptre from the Angel's grasp and walloping the teenager over the head with it before anyone could blink, "How DARE you steal food from the sweet sanctity of my Almighty hands! I thought we talked about this you little - !"

Though Gohan could not respond, as all at once the heat it him, and he buckled to his knees, his hands wrapping around his burning throat. It felt as though his mouth was on _fire_. Like a volcano had erupted in his mouth and spilled forth molten hot lava into every crevice. It burned right down his oesophagus and up through his nostrils, tears streaming down his bright red face as he choked and gasped for air. He paid no mind to his throbbing skull, as the pain on his tongue was much _much_ worse.

The Z-gang stared at him in bewilderment, before Videl rushed to his side with a large jug of water, which he downed in no time, uncaring that it spilled from the corners of his lips and drenched his t-shirt, for his mouth was now completely numb.

"What _are_ you playing at?" The girl hissed, just as flabbergasted by his display, "You know that's not how the game works!"

Gohan shook his head, unable to speak as he leapt up, sprinting to a nearby table and chugged down another jug of water that was being kept cool by the shade of an umbrella. Tears were still stinging his eyes, as he berated Krillin for even suggesting the blasted game in the first place. Trust Lord Beerus to select the _only_ takoyaki with enough wasabi in it to down an Oozaru!

Though, at least it had been him to take the fall, if Vegeta had done that and stolen food straight from the Destroyer's awaiting mouth, then he was certain that he would be staring at nothing but purple particles right now. The thought alone was enough to make him shudder.

"Well, I suppose that game is over with," Krillin shrugged in disappointment, as the rest of the gang eagerly grabbed the safer snacks off the tray.

"Good!" Vegeta snapped at him, before turning to Lord Beerus, positively seething that the shorter warrior had unknowingly put the lot of them in danger, "L-Lord Beerus! Why don't you try one of the food stalls? And er, less _dangerous_ food-types. I'd be more than happy to show you around, my Lord."

"Very well, Vegeta," the cat-God sighed, shooting another glare at his successor, "As long as you keep that damned _runt_ away from me until it's time for us to leave…"

"Absolutely, a-as you command!" He implored, leading the way towards the port-side, Whis trailing behind them and humming a whimsical tune, "You know, he hasn't changed in the slightest, disrespecting his elders like that. Has he ever told you the story of when he tried to challenge me as a boy, my Lord?"

"Oh I _do_ hope that you beat him suitably?"

"But of course! I believe that I kneed him right in the gut."

"HA. Classic!"

Gohan growled in annoyance, his tongue still prickling with heat as the pair continued to rant about his aversion to authority, that was until he noticed Vegeta giving him a subtle thumbs up behind Lord Beerus' back.

The party continued without much fuss after that, save for a near run-in with Majin Buu when he had attempted to take all of the pudding cups for himself. It was with a threatening glare from Gohan did the pink blob of a being put half of them back on the buffet table, allowing Lord Beerus and Whis to sample the smooth, sweet delicacy for themselves.

The music had steadily picked up tempo, as the cruiser sped further through the ocean, the deeper waters choppy and protesting against the hull. At one point, when the coast was clear, Gohan and Videl had snuck away for some much needed alone time at the back of the ship, when they were rudely interrupted by Trunks, Marron and a rather reluctant Goten. Though the latter soon perked up as they spotted a school of dolphins and whales way out from any land, jumping and diving over the rapid waves, trilling and squeaking a delicate song as the youngsters waved back at them.

As the day went on, the horizon streaked with picturesque summer colours of amber and gold. It reflected in the deep blue sea, spanning the cloudless sky, the air still warm, fresh and inviting. Seagulls and other exotic birds flew overhead, as though following the ship in its destination, though the _Princess Bulma_ would be shortly turning back, and by morning they would dock up again on the same island as they had left.

Lord Beerus and Whis appeared to be settling in well, relaxing on sun loungers and ravenously eating their way around every food stall. The Angel even putting together a sampler platter for them to take back home - _"Could you put some more of those things you call sushi rolls in there too?" He had gushed at the rather perplexed vender, eyes sparkling in delight when he nodded, "Oh! You truly are a peach!"_

Vegeta had taken to keeping a firm watch on their spot, should anyone be in danger of angering the Destroyer. He and Piccolo had even jumped in the way of Goten and Trunks' water guns that had narrowly missed the sunbathing God, which had sent Gohan and the rest of the gang into hysterics.

 _"You blasted rug-rats!" The prince of all saiyans had screamed, sopping wet as he charged after the mischievous duo, a similarly drenched Piccolo hot on his heels, "Come back here before I final-flash you little bastards to kingdom come!"_

After that, there had been no more close calls, and the children's water pistols had been safely locked away in the control room of the ship.

Gohan sighed as he rested on the deck chair next to Videl, a small table between their respective loungers and a blue and white striped umbrella shielding them from the sun that was still high and hot over the South. He had discarded his t-shirt much like her, his scars and muscles exposed to the world and his sunglasses balancing on his nose.

His gorgeous companion hadn't spoken for a while, and he thought that maybe she had fallen to sleep, her own sunglasses covering her eyes when she groaned, "I'm _roasting_ , I could do with a drink."

"I'll get it," he said, sitting up readily and stretching, "Any preferences?"

She shrugged, pulling down her sunglasses ever so slightly, her sapphire eyes raking over his exposed torso, "Why don't you surprise me, wonder boy?"

"Well if it's a surprise you want," he grinned wickedly, similarly ogling her bikini-clad body that glistened with a light sheen of sweat and suntan lotion, "We could just go down to your cabin…"

"Won't your bosses be a little suspicious if the boat starts a rocking?" she quirked, amused.

The halfling shrugged, propping his sunglasses up on his head, "All they care about right now is food, and trading hellish stories with Vegeta about me. There don't care about what I'm up to."

Videl rolled her eyes playfully, "Drink now, shag later. Honestly, it's like your never satisfied."

"Oh believe me I am," he implored, still smiling at her vulgarity, "But I can't help that you're so beautiful."

She flushed, much to his elation, before chucking a towel at his face, "Go and get me a drink already, before you threaten to turn me into a puddle of mush."

He laughed, blowing her a teasing kiss and making his way to one of the drinks stands. It was nice, the normality of just relaxing together and pretending that he didn't have to leave in a few short hours. He wanted to savour her presence for all it was worth, and similarly share one last private goodbye with her before he had to summon Shenron. But he had to admit that Videl was right, it was unbearably hot, as though the sun itself was following them on their voyage. It didn't take long for Gohan to catch the attention of the bartender, the sounds of his family and friends jovial chatter ringing in his ears.

Just when he was about to order a couple of hilariously named cocktails that he was certain would amuse the girl immensely - _tempted monkey_ and _screaming orgasm_ , did a loud rumble of an engine distract him. At first, he thought it was the cruise-liner making a turn, until he heard the awe-filled gasp of little Marron, followed by the excitable shouts of Goten and Trunks.

"Woah, is that a space-ship?!" Trunks gasped, climbing on the rungs of the railings and squinting up at the domed-shaped, red and white painted vehicle that had come speeding towards them from the horizon.

"Looks like it Trunks," said Goten, peering upwards with his hand across his forehead, blinking out the sunlight, it certainly didn't look like any vehicle of Earth, "But it can't be anything bad, the energy signal feels really weak."

Gohan looked up, his little brother was right. Whoever was driving the one-man spacecraft certainly wasn't anything to worry about. Though the squiggly symbol painted onto the front of it appeared _very_ familiar.

He inwardly groaned, as the small vessel came to a halt, floating in midair, the emblem of The Galactic Patrol all too clear in the shining sun. What the bloody hell were _they_ doing here?

The Galactic Patrol were a cosmic force that policed and kept order throughout the Milky Way. Directly led by the Galactic King himself, the patrol enlisted numerous elite warriors throughout the galaxy, who upheld the Galactic Laws and took out evil where they could. Despite this seemingly noble endeavour, they were a constant thorn in the young Destroyer's side, and he'd had many run-ins with them as he strived to maintain balance across the universe, often clashing on many decisions that he made in regards to Destroying or not Destroying.

They were just trouble makers as far as the halfling could see, and although he tried his best to distance himself from them, he would no doubt have to pay a few visits to their headquarters in order to clean up one of their messes. It's not like he thought that a galactic police force was a bad idea, not at all, it was just that they didn't exactly… _execute_ things the way that Gohan thought they should, more often abiding by their own rules rather than that imposed by the Divine by sheer ignorance alone.

Z had once pointed out that the reason for Gohan's short temper with them was because he was still sour about the fact that they had arrested him when he was a very new Destroyer-in-training. When he had first started out, word hadn't quite yet spread beyond the Gods that there was a new Junior Destroyer at Lord Beerus' side. Not knowing who the fourteen-year-old halfling was, they had apprehended him for taking down a rather destructive solar-system wide crime syndicate singlehandedly - dubbing him a no good vigilante meddling in Galactic affairs.

However, the situation had been swiftly rectified, when Lord Beerus had shown up and threatened to Destroy the lot of them for their incompetence.

"Goten, be careful!" He heard his mother shout, as the three children floated upwards to inspect the vessel, "What have I told you about talking to strange aliens?!"

Goten smiled back, "Aw don't worry Mum! I'll mind my manners!"

Chi-Chi nodded, satisfied, as the small craft shortly drew the gang's attention. Goten, Trunks and Marron reached the spaceship where it hovered just above their heads in midair, the glass dome top springing open and revealing the newcomer in the form of a purple and blue-skinned humanoid alien, with large yellow eyes and a small nose and mouth.

The alien rested his hands on his hips, standing strong as he observed the children before him, the unmistakable symbol of the Galactic Patrol emblazoned across the white armour on his chest.

"Greetings Earthling Human pups," he spoke professionally, his voice slightly high-pitched and nasally, "I'm looking for the Earthling known as Bulma. I was given instructions by the servants at her usual dwelling, and was informed that she would be on this vessel."

"Uh yeah, that's my mum, and this is her birthday party," Trunks said rather haughtily, his sharp blue eyes narrowing at the alien, "What do _you_ want?"

He frowned, "Your mother? _Fascinating_. You're telling me that you're Bulma's son?"

"Yeah that's right," the purple-haired prince glowered, as Goten frowned deeply beside him, "You got a problem with that, mister?"

"To think, she's become a broodmare now, dear me, times really _have_ changed," The alien sighed, muttering to himself before eyeing the children once more and gasped, "Speaking of time! We don't have any! I need to speak to Bulma right _now_!"

"Hang on a minute, we don't even know who you are!" Goten argued fiercely.

"Yeah!" Trunks agreed, "My mum is a busy lady you know. You might have to make an appointment."

The patrolman looked flabbergasted, "A-An _appointment_?! Listen little lava, I don't think you realise just what's at stake - !"

"Maybe he's one of your mummy's friends, Trunks?" Marron suggested helpfully, prompting the boy to snort.

"Yeah right, there's no way that she would be friends with him," He scoffed, eyeing him up and down, "Just look at his fashion sense, he's wearing full body tights!"

" _These_ are not tights youngling," the alien told him proudly, tapping his knee as proof, "This is my skin."

"Ewww," Marron grimaced, sticking out her tongue as both boys shared a rather perplexed look.

"But where did you buy that mask?" Goten asked, giggling, "I think that it's pretty funny!"

" _Mask_?!" He guffawed, "What are you talking about? This is my face!"

Unfortunately for the elite policeman, this revelation seemed to intrigue the children even more so, and at once they jumped full on his back, poking and tugging at his face as they teased him.

"Wow, what a costume!" Trunks laughed, poking him in the eye as he struggled in annoyance.

"Yeah did you make this at school?" Goten jested.

"How old are you?" Marron asked in awe.

"Would you _get off_ me?!" The patrolman cried, "I'm NOT at school! I'M AN ADULT!"

With his final shout, he grappled the dastardly trio off him, flinging them through the air until they crashed into one another.

"He's mean!" Marron pouted, looking over at her friends when her eyes widened in horror, "Er, Goten - ?"

Trunks shrieked, as he realised what was in the younger boy's hand, "Goten you _idiot_! You pulled his ear off!"

"I-I didn't mean to!" He yelped, holding the dome-shaped device in his palm, "I-It just came off I swear!"

"It is NOT my ear you ruffians!" The alien snapped, snatching it out of Goten's grasp, "It is a radio communica _tor_ \- the latest model I'll have you know. And it is the same communicator whereby my latest command was given to me, filtered down through the ranks with the upmost urgency and importance. Now, will you let me through so that I can speak to Bulma? The entire universe demands it - !"

"Fine, whatever, chill out," Trunks griped, blowing a stray bang away from his eyes, "But you still haven't told us who you are, mister…?"

"Aha! A simple request!" The patrolman bellowed suddenly, posing on the hood of his ship. Balancing on one leg, he took his guns out of his belt and swirled them around his fingers in what he thought was a dazzling display, raising his arms in salute, "I am the shield protecting millions of stars! I am the blazing torch of justice! The SUPER ELITE GALACTIC PATROLMAAAAAN! BEHOLD, TINY EARTHLINGS! I…. AAAAAM….- !"

"Oi Jaco!" Bulma shouted suddenly, having finally spotted him dancing in the sky, "Is that really you up there?!"

He jolted, almost toppling over himself as he lost his footing, snarling angrily down towards the blue-haired scientist, "Damn it Bulma! You _ruined_ it!"

"Long time no see!" She grinned, oblivious to his irritated scowl, "Get down here!"

Jaco sighed, jumping from his craft and lowering himself down to the deck with the help of his jetted space boots. By now, he had gained the attention of the whole ship, who stared at the alien with interest. Bulma _did_ have some pretty strange friends after all.

"Mum, do you really know him?" Trunks quirked, as the kids landed before them.

"Of course I do!" She chortled, her cheeks a little ruddy from a mixture of alcohol and sun, "Jaco and I go _way_ back - "

"Is that so?" Vegeta glowered, glaring reproachfully at the patrolman and causing him to shrink away slightly from the mighty prince.

"Well, I suppose he was my sister Tights' friend first," Bulma explained, "but I've known him since I was about five, I even fixed his ship up for him!"

"Ah yes," said Jaco thoughtfully, "How is Tights?"

"Keeps herself to herself nowadays, she's a busy woman," she told him, before turning towards him with a wink, "So what do we owe the pleasure? Or have you just stopped by to wish an old friend a happy birthday?"

"Pfft, as if," he snorted, "I have no use for such sentiments, and besides, what's so special about _another_ birthday. Haven't you had about fifty of those by now?"

"Why you -!" Bulma growled, looking as though she might just punch him, before the patrolman cut across her.

"No time Bulma, I am on a mission of the upmost urgency," he pressed, "Tell me, aren't you friends with the people that took out Frieza and Majin Buu?"

"Well yeah," she replied haughtily, as though it was obvious, inclining her head towards Goku and the others who were watching intently, "Goku over there defeated Frieza, although _technically_ it was my son Trunks who delivered the final blow -"

"WHAT?!" Jaco cried, looking over at the boy in question, "You're telling me that small fry killed the evil emperor?!"

"Of course not silly," said Bulma, "He wasn't even born then, that wouldn't make any sense at all. No, I'm talking about his older counterpart who came from the future in a time machine."

He looked utterly confounded, "Er… what the hell Bulma? You tell me that as though it's no big deal! Galactic Law states that altering time is a high felony offence, punishable by exile to a penal colony! But just because it's you, I'll pretend that I didn't hear that…"

"Well, no one told us anything about some stupid law," she shrugged, causing him to blanch, "But either way, Majin Buu was a combined effort, led by Goku, my husband Vegeta, Piccolo and the rest of the warriors of Earth."

"W-Wait, _Vegeta_?!" He gasped, "Like _Planet_ Vegeta?! _Prince Vegeta?!_ You married that _Saiyan_?! Holy crap, no wonder your kid was strong enough to defeat Frieza! I didn't know that there was a Saiyan on Earth…"

"My husband isn't the only one," Bulma informed him, pointing at Goku, "Goku is a Saiyan too, and he has sons."

The patrolman looked a little green, before averting his eyes and muttering to himself, "Hm, I wonder if that Goku was the one I was supposed to stop from landing here? Ah it doesn't matter… it's not as if anyone's going to check the record log for _that_ long ago…"

Behind them, Vegeta snarled, "And what of it? Did you come here just to get my wife's life story, or did you have something important to tell her?"

Jaco squeaked, whispering up to Bulma, "Yikes, he's pretty scary! How do you put up with him?"

"Ah, I have my ways to tame him," she chuckled suggestively, causing the now red-faced prince to huff angrily.

"Will you just _get on_ with it already?!

"Ah yes," the patrolman fumbled, clearing his throat before pulling a rather crumpled piece of parchment out of his armour, and shouting dramatically, "Warriors of Earth, slayers of the Evil Emperor and Majin Buu, I'm afraid that I have grave news, behold - !"

Gohan rolled his eyes in annoyance from where he was still standing at the bar. _Bloody Galactic Patrol. What a load of show-offs._

The Z-gang stared as Jaco dangled the parchment in front of their eyes, an incredibly bad drawing of what looked like a cross between an elf and a pig in thick green crayon upon it. Complete with a spikey mohawk and dangling earrings.

The young saiyan frowned, keeping himself a good distance away from the group. He suddenly had a _very_ bad feeling.

"Er, what is it?" He heard his father enquire, causing Jaco to tut in annoyance.

"Not _what_ Saiyan, but _who_!" He sighed, his features becoming stern once more, "He is a corrupted Supreme Kai's apprentice from the tenth universe who has disappeared completely off the grid! His goal is to release an ancient evil so terrifying that even some of us super elite patrolman fear to utter his name! The entire cosmos is in danger! My mission is to be _only_ on the lookout for this fiend and not engage, and this very command has come from the Gods _themselves_! But I have a plan to enlist the mighty warriors who defeated Majin Buu and bring this villain to justice once and for all!"

"Plus," Jaco added, nudging an unsuspecting Tien in the ribs, "If I get this right then I'll be sure to get a hefty bonus this year, am I right big guy?"

"Do you mean Zamasu?" Bulma quirked, "We already know all about him."

"Y-You do?" The elite patrolman blinked disbelievingly, as the gang nodded, "Ah! Of course! By defeating Majin Buu, you must have had dealings with the great Supreme Kai! No doubt that he has already warned you all about the horrors of Zamasu… damn it, and I was hoping to get to you first."

"Actually, The Supreme Kai didn't tell us anything," Videl piped up, a pale orange sarong now wrapped around her hips, "Gohan did."

Uh oh.

The young saiyan stepped back in an attempt to shield himself. He needed to get away quickly, just incase the stupid space patrolman actually had half a brain cell and - !

"G-Gohan?" Jaco spluttered suddenly, the piece of parchment slipping from his hands in shock, his features paling considerably, " _Please_ tell me that this is a different Gohan you're talking about…"

Videl frowned in confusion, as Goku cocked his head to the side curiously, "Do you know him? There can't be _that_ many Gohan's out there surely."

"Well I -" he started to reply, when his highly trained vision caught sight of someone attempting to scarper in the background. Jaco's yellow eyes focused, and he practically screamed bloody-murder when he realised who it was.

"OH MY ZENO!"

Gohan winced, as the patrolman's shriek cut through the air. It stopped him dead in his tracks, the fear rooting him to the ground, a feeling of intense dread engulfing him completely. And for some reason, he _could not move_. His legs solidified like cement stuck uselessly to the deck, his brain suddenly not cooperating, his entire nervous system shutting down completely.

Why?

Why him? Why _now_?! No, he couldn't, he _wouldn't_. He needed to shut this idiot up! But alas, Bulma got there first.

"Jaco what - ?" She started, as Earth's protector's were suddenly on high alert, their Ki raised in alarm and dropping into their fighting stances, looking around should someone - like Zamasu - attack them.

"No," Jaco gulped, shaking his head in disbelief. His horrified gazed was still fixated upon the halo-topped Junior Destroyer as he crawled backwards, hyperventilating and on the verge of a panic attack, "No. No. No. No. NO! I-I didn't know that this planet was on the chopping block! I-I've got to get out of here!"

"Jaco calm down! What the hell has gotten into you?!" Bulma demanded, as the patrolman toppled backwards and straight into her arms, "You look as though you've just seen a ghost!"

"P-Pretty close! _Death_ _itself_ more like!" He squeaked, turning towards her before she could get a word in, "Bulma, what have you done to warrant such a visit?!"

"He's obviously disturbed in the head," Vegeta cut across him gruffly in an attempt to diffuse the situation, his gaze glancing momentarily to a stunned Gohan and back again, "I'd best take him for a lie down."

"I'll help," Piccolo chimed in, moving over to pull the fretting alien away from the group.

Jaco seemed to panic even more so at their threatening tone, before Bulma rolled her eyes, stopping them from interfering, "Don't be ridiculous Vegeta. Now Jaco, just _breathe_ for a minute, and tell us what's wrong."

"D-Do you _not_ see him?!" He mustered, scrambling out of her grasp and backing away so that his back was pressed up against the stage, the furthest distance he could give himself from the halfling at that moment, "I-I must be having a nightmare! A _terrible_ nightmare! Look! O-Over THERE!"

His eyes locked with his again, as the teenager glowered menacingly, "You'd better shut your mouth whilst you still can, patrolman."

"EEK!" Jaco squawked, tumbling to his knees and bowing his head. The others looked utterly bewildered, "Y-Yes sir! S-Sorry sir!"

"Gohan!" His mother snapped disapprovingly, "That is no way to speak to a guest, you're being incredibly rude."

"ARE YOU _CRACKED_ WOMAN?!" The trembling alien bellowed, "Don't _talk_ to him like that! Not if you value your existence!"

"What are you talking about?" Goku demanded, unimpressed by how the strange visitor had just spoken to his wife.

"Yeah," said Krillin, perplexed, "You're talking a little crazy, even for one of Bulma's friends."

"Simple-minded Human!" He panted, pulling at his face in frustration, "Don't you realise who you have in your midst?!"

Gohan remained frozen in place, his breath coming up short, his chest constricting painfully. _Please, no. Don't do it._

"Who? Vegeta?" blinked Yamcha, as the saiyan in question bared his teeth in anger, "Look mate, I know he looks a little scary, but he's - "

"I'm not talking about him! I'm talking about **_him_**!" Jaco interrupted, drawing up his arm and pointing an accusatory finger straight at the petrified teenager in the middle of the deck, "L-Lord Gohan. Lord Gohan The Destroyer."

* * *

The stunned silence was thick and palpable, disturbed only by the roar of the ocean waters as the cruise-liner sped through the clashing waves. Jaco's words cut right through them, so sharply that it penetrated their skin. Shocking them to their very core, like an audible tremor that quaked their bones. The warmth of the summer sun fading away, the sudden chill freezing the blood that fled through their veins. He was certain that he just heard everyones hearts stop for beat, before starting back up again.

Gohan felt as though he had been momentarily chucked overboard, plunged into the icy depths of the deep blue as the entirety of his family and friends looked towards him with a mixture of flabbergasted eyes and disbelieving open mouths. He caught sight of Dende giving him a sympathetic glance through the silent crowd, though Piccolo's brow was knitted in concern. Vegeta remained still and stoic, watching it all unfold with dark, awaiting eyes.

The young saiyan opened his mouth to reply, as Jaco's shriek hung like a hangman's rope in the air, the noose wrapping around his neck and squeezing it tight - for the teenager knew that he had been sentenced. Sentenced to admitting the truth, that he had _lied_ \- and worst of all to the people he loved and admired the most.

He moved his lips in an attempt to say - _something_ , but all that came out were broken stutters that refused to cooperate with the rest of his body. His mind was frantic, the static coming back full force as the chaos unleashed within, his onyx eyes wide and unbelieving to the fact that this was all really happening.

His father was the first to break the surface of the tension that seemed to grip every single one of them, "L-Lord - ? _D-Destroyer -_? Gohan, w-what - ?"

But Goku couldn't finish his sentence, his own voice failing him, as he stared at his eldest son with wide obsidian eyes. The confusion and trepidation evident in his tone.

"D-Dad I -," he tried, desperately, pleading with him not to make him say it out-loud.

"What does he mean, Gohan?" His father asked again, this time more firmly. His mother stood next to him, a hand upon to her chest, her features suddenly forlorn. Goten grasped at her other hand, frowning deeply up at him.

"Kakarot…," Vegeta started, as though in warning, but his fellow saiyan ignored him and demanded -

"Gohan, what does he mean by Destroyer?"

The halfling scrunched up his eyes, wishing the ground to swallow him whole and the waves to wash him away, the guilt finally crushing him down. He suddenly felt so small and insignificant under his father's penetrative stare. But just as he opened them to explain, did Whis cut across him.

"A Destroyer is a God," the Angel told them upon his and Lord Beerus' approach, the patrolman's irate shrieking having caught their attention. Jaco cowered in terror (" _Lord Beerus_ ** _too_** _?! Oh what a sorry world I've stumbled upon! Why me?!"),_ "The opposite side of the coin compared to a Supreme Kai, whose divine role in the universe is to create and maintain life, whereas a God of Destruction seeks to eradicate it as they see fit. It is what Gohan is, or rather what he will be once Lord Beerus here eventually kicks the bucket, therefore Gohan - or _Lord_ Gohan as per his proper title - is currently the Junior Destroyer of Worlds for Universe Seven."

Gohan sighed heavily in defeat, as the harshness of those words sank in, unable to look at the gang who gasped at the revelation, he didn't want to imagine the look of upmost horror on their faces.

"I was lying low to give my successor the chance to explain before we departed, if he so wished," said Lord Beerus, wrinkling his nose in agitation, "But it seems as though the patrolman has let the cat out of the bag."

The galactic patrolman in question squeaked at his mention, cowering behind an equally astonished Bulma.

"D-Destroyer of _Worlds_?" His father staggered, his gaze searching him disbelievingly. "B-But I thought you said that you maintain the balance in the universe? Y-You said you protected it…"

"That is correct," Whis spoke for him, for he knew that the halfling could not summon the courage at present, "Although Gohan does this by Destroying that which threatens that balance. It is a very important role, one that he has so far executed well."

"Like what? What threatens the balance?" Krillin mustered weakly, hardly believing his ears, though there was a hopefulness to his tone, "You mean like evil people, right?"

"Not _all_ evil!" Jaco suddenly scoffed, "Over-populated planets, entire species, whole solar systems - ! Ones that tick him off!"

"And you'll be next on my list if you don't shut your trap!" Gohan snapped, his fierce gaze narrowing at him.

"Eep!" He squealed, burying his head in his arms, and tumbling to his knees, "S-Sorry your destructiveness sir! I'll be quiet my Lord!"

"I-I," The halfling started more tentatively, backing down as his family and friends gaped in shock at his sudden outburst, "L-Look, I don't do it unnecessarily. It's like I said before, i-if I didn't accept this role, then everything in the universe could have imploded in less than a few centuries. If the universe doesn't maintain balance, upholding both the roles of a Supreme Kai and a Destroyer then it collapses in on itself, and I… I couldn't let it happen, I couldn't let that happen after everything you've taught me, after everything that we've strived to keep safe. I couldn't let it happen to you."

The silence swept over them once more in the wake of his desperate words, though no one knew what to do, or to say. He locked eyes with Piccolo, who was the one that had previously suggested that he tell them of his current role in the universe. His old mentor had told him that he understood, and in turn, to just be himself. But it seemed as though whenever he tried, he seemed to always end up disappointing someone.

The Namekian opened his mouth to speak, when he was interrupted by a short figure cutting across him. Her quiet, yet angered growl reaching Gohan's ears and stabbing at his heart as though a dagger had just driven straight through it.

"You lied," Videl stated, tears welling in her beautiful eyes that were so full of hurt and anger, "Y-You lied to me."

"Videl _please_ ," he begged, pleading as he took a small step towards her, "I only kept you from the truth to protect you -"

"BULLSHIT!" She yelled suddenly, catching everyone off guard, including him, her fist flying towards his head.

He dodged effortlessly, eyes wide as her wild limbs blurred in motion, desperately trying to unleash her fury upon him.

"I knew it!" She snarled in frustration, as her attacks all but collided with thin air, "I just _knew_ that there was something that you weren't telling me!"

Gohan ducked as her leg came sailing right over his head, his hair wavering in the sharp breeze. The Z-gang - along with Whis and Lord Beerus, were utterly flabbergasted by the display.

 **SWIPE!** "Do I mean that _little_ to you?!"

Yamcha shared a glance with Krillin, "Is it just me, or is any one else getting a weird sense of de ja vu?"

"I'll say," Master Roshi blinked in bewilderment, his eyes averting to a similarly stunned Goku and Chi-Chi.

"Videl, wait - !" The young saiyan yelped, dodging another knife hand that came speeding his way. But the girl wasn't listening, her eyes fierce and feral, driving him back with impressive gusto, and Gohan was so shocked, he narrowly side stepped a punch that aimed straight for his nose. "If you would just _listen_ \- !"

"A God of _Destruction?!_ \- **WHOOSH** \- what the - **SWING** \- bloody - **SWIPE** \- HELL - !" She panted, already winded, not one of her hits landing, "I thought - ! I-I don't know - _pant_ \- what I thought! **WHIR** \- I just don't _believe_ it! - **SWIPE!** \- I-I don't WANT to believe it!"

"Videl STOP!"

She struggled suddenly, as the halfling swiftly caught her fists out of the air, stopping her in her tracks. He blinked, her nose inches from his, her teeth bared as she growled.

"Was _any_ of it true?! ANY of it Gohan?!" she spouted hotly, tears falling freely now, all eyes upon them, but Videl didn't care, "How can I believe anything of what you said to me when you've kept something like that from us?! From _me_?!"

"I-I, I j-just -," he tried miserably, "Vi please, I meant _everything_ , everything that I said to you. How I feel. Just let me explain -!"

Videl's features softened ever so slightly at his use of her nickname, though her gaze hardened back up again just as quickly, not giving him chance to finish, ripping her hands out of his grasp and glaring up at him.

"And what about The Supreme Guard?!" The girl bellowed, as though plucking her anger straight out of the heated tension in the air, her blood boiling over, her agony burning right through him and intermingling with his own, "Did you get your so called friends in on it as well?! Were those stories they told everyone just a crock of shit too?! Did you all have a good laugh about it afterwards?!"

"N-No!" He blundered, "It was all true, I swear - !"

"How many?"

His father's harsh tone cut in between them, his features dark and serious, stopping even Videl in her arduous ranting.

"What - ?" Gohan blinked, unsure of what the man was asking.

"How many planets - _people_ Gohan?!" Goku demanded, his jaw clenched, his brow furrowed in what he was certain was anger, "How _many_?!"

"Please," the teenager mustered hopelessly, "D-Don't make me answer that."

Though it appeared that his reply was all that his father needed to know. The full-bloodied saiyan let out a shaky breath, breathing deeply as though trying to pull himself off the ledge of his disappointment.

It made Gohan feel a million times worse.

"I don't understand son," he tried again, locking eyes with his, "This isn't _you_. **_Us_**. The Gohan I know would never - !"

"Well the Gohan you know is dead!"

The halfling spat the words before he could even wrap his head around what he was saying. It was sudden, cruel, and he faintly heard his mother gasp, his emotions getting the better of him.

"The Gohan you knew and loved _died_ eight years ago at The Cell Games!" He shouted hotly, taking the man aback, "And you know what, I made peace with that. I made peace with the fact that I would never see any of you again, even though it hurt. And believe me it hurt so _fucking_ much!"

Goku blinked, as his words echoed around the ship.

"I-I was only a kid!" He pressed desperately, "A kid who once again had the power to make a difference, but I thought - I thought that it was the right thing to do! I never _asked_ for this power, I never asked to die! But I threw myself into every challenge, into every single moment on the Destroyer's world because I thought that YOU of all people would be proud of me!"

Gohan closed his eyes, attempting to steady himself for but a moment, the occupants of the deck still and silent, "I never liked killing, I don't particularly _like_ Destroying. But sometimes it has to be done in order for the universe to keep going. It took me years to understand that. And I only became a Destroyer to keep my universe safe, because I knew that I had the power go beyond that of any other recruit. I worked so hard and freed the legendary Z-sword when no one else could! Thousands of warriors and Gods alike, Makhai, Alala, even _Kratos_ couldn't do it where as I could! That has to mean **_something_** doesn't it?!"

He panted, his breath heaving as he spoke, "All these signs… all these signs pointed me towards the thought that this was what I was _meant_ to do! And I did it to keep you safe because I couldn't - "

The young saiyan stopped short, the only sounds that of the retreating seagulls and the ocean spray crashing against the hull.

His friends and family stared. They stared at the frantic young man and saw nothing but the little boy whom they had lost eight long years ago. For Gohan looked back at them with wide onyx eyes, full of hurt and regret and anger. The dark, haunted orbs shining with tears - a look, they realised, that they had seen all too often before.

"I couldn't save _you_ Dad," Gohan finished, looking towards the sky in defeat, his golden halo glinting in the sunshine, attempting to stop his hot tears from falling. His father looked stunned, his mouth hanging open as he addressed him, "You sacrificed yourself for my mistake."

"I-If I hadn't of taunted Cell," the teenager said quietly, coming clean, "if I hadn't enjoyed every second of ripping that _bastard_ to shreds and tried to make him suffer even more for what he'd done - then Cell wouldn't have tried to take his anger out on the world. I-I nearly lost _everything_ because of my stupid mistake - !"

"Son," Goku started, his voice thick with emotion, "You were just a kid -"

"Maybe so," he shrugged, his own words quaking as he tried to quell the deep aching burn behind his throat and eyes, "But you all taught me better than that. I felt as though I had let you all down, and it hurt so much that it was almost suffocating. And, in a way, when I died I felt like I could finally _breathe_ again. I suppose that you could say that a part of me ran away that day. I-I needed time, space to come to terms with my carelessness. I needed to accept that I had made a horrible mistake and watched my dad die in front of me. I needed to choose what to do, and when Whis recruited me…"

He stopped short, looking at both of his parents, "I-It was something so much _bigger_ than me becoming a scholar for you Mum or a warrior like you wanted Dad. I could carve my own path and be who _I_ wanted to be, I could keep you all safe and happy. But for that to happen, I knew that I had to do it my own way, I had to make my own sacrifices, so that no one would ever have to sacrifice themselves for me ever again. It was hard to accept that I could never see any of you again, believe me when I say that it was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do."

Gohan averted his eyes, as tears began to spill down his mother's cheeks, the reality of his words sinking in, "But I suppose that deep down, I couldn't face you, I thought that you would be so disappointed in me… but I suppose that it doesn't matter now, because it looks like I was right."

His father said nothing, none of them did. Though he wasn't entirely certain if it was due to the fact that he had either stunned them into silence, or that they couldn't even bare to look at him, let alone speak. He was betting on the latter.

He felt it swirling inside him, the ache, the burn, the negative well of emotions pulsating and drumming underneath his skin - just threatening to escape him. This was such a mess…

"Excuse me, my Lord, but could I get a picture with you? The fellows back at HQ aren't going to believe this!"

"ARE YOU _SERIOUS_ RIGHT NOW?!" Gohan roared, sending both Jaco and his polaroid camera flying. Unable to curb his rage, the sudden dark power rushed through his veins so intensely that he couldn't stop it from protruding outwards.

The negativity exploded around him in the hot, pressurised power of the Energy of Destruction. A violet burning aura burst around his frame, sending a crippling shockwave across the deck and overboard, the ship rocking in motion as the ocean rippled with the sudden influx of staggering power.

The sparkling blue vastness of the ocean seemed to grow several shades darker, as the entire Z-gang fell to their knees, the sudden pressure catching them off guard and knocking them off balance. Looking towards Gohan, whose onyx eyes were glinting in the light of the violet fire that danced around him, blowing back the long mass of black hair away from his face, they all felt the same sinking feeling of dread that told them that doom was suddenly upon them.

The presence of a Destroyer.

The young saiyan panted, berating himself for losing control like that, as his father slowly staggered to his feet, shaking his head in disbelief as the purple particles escaped his aura and floated into the air. Videl was in a similar state of shock, and barely noticed when Goten moved swiftly in front of her in order to protect her and his mother, his obsidian eyes hardening at his older brother, his Ki heightened in warning incase the junior deity made any sudden moves.

"W-What is _that_?" Goku stuttered, aghast, staring at him as though he didn't even recognise who he was any more. "I-It's so … _dark_."

"It's mind-boggling," Vegeta mustered, "The pressure, it's unreal."

"I'll say," said Tien, with calculating eyes, "It looks as though it's true. Gohan really is a Destroyer."

"Calm down boy," Lord Beerus scoffed at the teen, dangerously eyeing the warriors before him.

"You would do well to mind your tongues, mortals," he told them fiercely, "You speak as though Gohan has committed a great offence, or as though he has changed in some way. _Balderdash_ is what it is, he is embarking on something honourable, and like it or not it is in his destiny. Correct me if I am mistaken, but you have all seen it, mostly in the way he fights. The way he turns pain into power, his hidden strengths, the way he can push his potential even further than the likes of the warriors that bore him. And despite the tendency to lose his cool on occasion, he has the very essence of what it takes to be a God of Destruction, starting with the furious hidden potential that lies within."

Gohan blinked, his aura dwindling in light of his predecessors words. He had _never_ heard Lord Beerus speak about him like that before. There was almost a hint of pride to his tone - almost.

"But I don't -," his father started to protest, just as Whis cut in.

"Let me show you what we mean, it might help you have a better understanding of why Gohan is most suited to the role," the Angel quipped, tapping his staff so that a rounded projection emitted from the gem and protruded high above them, the greenish glow reflecting off the ocean waters below them.

The young Destroyer's eyes widened, as a familiar backdrop greeted them. The scenery all too recognisable to himself, his father and Piccolo, for they had all been present for the battle that had taken place many years before. A vast green meadow with rolling hills and high white-capped mountains stood out in the distant horizon, the emerald green fields laden with scorch marks and debris from the ensuing chaos.

The occupants of the deck became deathly silent, as the image came into focus and a gruff voice cut through the air - though more youthful in its nature than they were now accustomed to.

 _"GOKU!" Piccolo roared, panting hard and wounded from fighting. His eyes were wide in bewilderment as he clutched at the severed stump of his bicep, the jagged green flesh mangled and broken, "L-Look over by the crater! It's your son!"_

 _Goku looked over from where he lay broken and beaten on the ground. Only a few years older than what Gohan was now, his features youthful yet marred with agony. He was bleeding heavily, thick crimson fluid leaking out of numerous wounds and spilling over the cold dirt he lay upon. His orange gi was torn off of one shoulder, scorched and ripped in several places and displaying even more horrific injuries._

 _His estranged brother Raditz loomed over him, the least unharmed of the three, with wild hair and a wicked, sadistic grin. His large boot painfully pressing down on the younger saiyan's sternum, causing him to cry out and cough up another heap of blood and saliva._

 _Though the saiyan invader's eyes were no longer on his brother. Instead, he had been startled, shocked out of his current affliction of torturing his kin - his jaw dropping at the appearance of the small half-saiyan child that had come crashing straight through the space pod that he had been trapped in, landing outside the enormous crater and trembling with a staggering amount of unyielding rage._

 _"W-What the - ?" Raditz spluttered, the numbers on his scouter flashing wildly as it honed in on the four-year-old. "I-It cant be!"_

 _"G-Gohan," Goku gasped, his voice strained with pain, trying to process just_ ** _how_** _on Kami's great Earth the boy had managed to break through a supposedly impenetrable space pod - completely destroying it in the process, bits of broken and smoking electrical wiring and melted metal littered around him, "Gohan, D-Daddy can't g-get up r-right now. R-Run. R-Run a-away from here!"_

The teenager didn't remember the encounter at all, he realised, as his father and Piccolo looked on intently. The latter biting his lip in anticipation of what was to come and the former clenching his jaw tightly, his eyes full of emotion - and longing, almost.

No, all Gohan remembered was his father's screams of agony, screams that had utterly terrified the young boy who was trapped in his evil uncle's spaceship. He was utterly helpless, he couldn't do _anything_. And then, as his father's cries grew more desperate and agonising, Gohan felt his heart shatter. He felt pain like he had never felt before and then - nothing.

The next thing he recalled was his lungs filling with water, and Piccolo telling him that his dad was dead, and that it was time to save the world.

His father and Piccolo had filled in him on the parts that had escaped his memory - and they had done so many a time after when he was younger and less in control of his power. Every time he was consumed with anger or fear, he would completely black out and have to be updated later. For a child, it was incredibly scary, especially when he realised just how much he had hurt someone in his blinding fit of rage. Being academically minded didn't help ease his fears either, and he recalled one moment of panic where he insisted that his mother and father take him to a neurologist to be checked out, waving an information leaflet about seizures in their faces that he had printed off the internet.

It wasn't long after his father had returned from Namek, though with some reassuring comments from both Goku and Piccolo, along with lots of meditation and a stint in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, did the young halfling finally manage to tap into deeper wells of his power without blacking out or having hazy memories.

The thought had once crossed Piccolo's mind that maybe his body had easily succumbed to this power because he was so young and his little brain and body couldn't handle it. His father had simply argued that maybe it was just the way he was, and this strange occurrence was just _Gohan_. His logical mind liked to think that his old mentor's explanation was far better to latch onto rather than some unexplainable phenomenon.

In any case, Piccolo's theory seemed to check out, for as he got older, he was able to get a much better handle on his power.

 _Little Gohan snarled, looking so vulnerable and yet so furious. His onyx eyes glinted with rage, his teeth bared, hot tears and snot cascading down his baby-rounded face. His fluffy, brown tail whipped around behind him as if in warning, his wild black hair wavered as he shook violently - something was building._

 _"Gohan run!" His father called out again, fighting his agony and the urge to scream in front of his only child, "L-Listen to me son! Y-You have t-to r-run away!"_

 _But the young boy did not listen, his murderous gaze was fixed solely on Raditz, who suddenly took a very wise step back, the scouter sounding out a rapid alarm in an unrelenting succession._

 _"P-Power level one-thousand three-hundred and seventy?!_ ** _Impossible_** _for a kid!" He gasped, and for the first time since his arrival on Earth, the bulking saiyan looked unnerved, the colour completely draining from his face, "A-And yet… i-it's still g-going_ ** _UP_** _?!"_

 _Goku and Piccolo looked similarly stunned, their jaws dropping to the floor as the four-year-old growled like a beast possessed, the raw power radiating around his tiny form, his small hands balled up into enraged fists as he bellowed to the heavens -_

 _"LEAVE MY DADDY_ ** _ALONE_** _!"_

 _It was ear-splitting, as a blinding flash of brilliant light encompassed the rocky planes in a spectacular display of power. It seemed to exude out of the boy, vibrant rays of silver spilling out and scorching the ground in white hot waves beneath his small booted feet._

 _Gohan roared and screamed, a sign that the enormous spike in power may have been too much for him to handle - but in reality, it wasn't. His pupils went completely white, slipping into the abyss, pure RAGE flooding every inch of his body, flooding through his veins and heating up the air rapidly around him._

 _The sky itself sizzled and popped as the energy surged through every atom, the violent light encasing him just like a rapidly building aura as he kicked harshly off from the ground, leaving indents from his small boots, cracking it apart on impact._

 _Goku and Piccolo threw their arms in front of them in order to shield their eyes from the dazzling haze, just as Gohan fired himself across the planes, speeding towards his uncle before anyone could so much as blink._

 ** _BOOM!_**

 _A sonic, crippling boom echoed around the landscape, a deafening crack of hard armour, a sickening snap of ribs as the halfling's skull collided with Raditz's chest. The large saiyan stumbled, shocked and wounded, blood spewing forth from his lips as he was pushed back a few feet, barely managing to catch himself as all the oxygen was forcibly knocked out of his lungs._

 _Gohan landed with a dull thud, his back hitting the hard ground as Raditz continued to cough and splutter. Goku gaped at his son, and it was clear that from their expressions that both he and Piccolo thought that the child might have been knocked out - or worse._

 _But suddenly, Gohan sat up, blinking around him with no idea of how he had managed to escape his prison. Or indeed any clue to what he had just done, let alone actually land a devastating hit on the enemy whereas the two adult, much more experienced warriors had failed._

 _"D-Daddy?" the little saiyan mustered innocently, wide eyes watering once more at the sight of his gravely injured father._

 _"G-Gohan?!" Goku managed to choke out, more than relieved that the boy was unharmed, coming to his senses swiftly, and trying to sooth his tears, "G-Gohan, don't worry about me okay? I-It's… It's going to be alright. N-Now y-you need to run, hurry!"_

 _"B-But -," he sniffed, until a large shadow blocked out the sun above him, causing the tot to squeak in terror._

 _"You little_ ** _fucker_** _," Raditz snarled, baring his teeth that were marred with dark crimson blood, bubbling from his lips as he spoke, "H-How dare you… no one has ever done such damage to me!"_

 _"N-No! Stay back!" roared Goku, trying and failing to sit up, hands reaching desperately towards his son. "Gohan GO!"_

 _Gohan was terrified, unable to process his father's commands, almost tripping over his tail as he took a backwards step, the numbers on Raditz's scouter whirring rapidly once more - until, they stopped._

 _"What?!" The burly saiyan spat viciously, not quite believing the results of the device attached to his ear, "Brat! What happened to all that power you had?!"_

 _"W-What p-power?" He whimpered, hot tears streaming down his chubby cheeks, though this appeared to enrage the brute even more so._

 _"Pah! Play games all you want!" Raditz glowered, taking a dangerous step towards the boy, "You'll pay all the same!"_

 _Gohan squeaked helplessly, unable to move his quaking legs that threatened to buckle underneath him_ , _"D-Daddy… help."_

 _"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" His father bellowed, though his pleas fell on deaf ears, as the crazed saiyan raised a deadly hand and struck the boy in the temple with a sickening_ ** _THWACK!_**

Gohan winced, as did the rest of the gang, unconsciously rubbing the same spot on his head as their sharp intake of breath echoing around him. It looked so much worse on the outside looking in. Even though the teenager didn't really remember it, there was something about watching himself get hit like that that caused his stomach to churn.

Maybe it was because he was so young, and therefore it looked more violent. However, he wasn't nearly taking it as hard as his mother, who slapped a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her sudden scream. She hadn't been there after all, and his father had most likely refrained from telling her about that particular part of the battle when he had come back to life after the Saiyan invasion.

Videl had also let out a horrified shriek at the sight, burying her head in her hands as Goku clapped a reassuring hand on her shoulder, though did not tear his fierce gaze away from the hologram.

 _The young boy flew several feet, his head snapping horrifically to the side. His body slumped at an odd angle as he fell, tumbling across the grass in a pitiful heap before he came to a sudden stop._

 _"GOHAN!" Goku cried with tears in his eyes, managing to roll over with a great amount of difficulty in a vain attempt to apprehend his wicked brother. Even Piccolo looked shocked, as the fiend from another world spat on the ground in disgust, before walking over to the unconscious child with deadly purpose._

 _"P-Please!" His father tried again, gasping as he shuffled on his hands and knees, crawling towards him, fingernails embedding into the dirt and leaving a vibrant trail of fresh blood behind him, "Please, d-don't hurt him! H-He's just a little boy!"_

 _"Yes, he's 'just a little boy' that's true," Raditz turned, a snarl evident on his lips, painfully clutching his shattered ribs, "But he's very_ _strong, with a power level even higher than yours, brother. And if he ever learned to control it then it would mean_ ** _very_** _bad things for us."_

 _Goku stared, unbelieving and horror-stricken as his sibling spoke again, low and dangerous, "So you can see that I have no choice. He must_ ** _die_** _!"_

 _"N-No, Gohan…" The earth-raised saiyan wept, trying and failing to move his broken body. "W-Wait! You can't! P-Please!"_

 _But Raditz ignored him, approaching the half-breed that now lay still and silent at his feet. The brute stared at the child for a moment, regarding him with calculated eyes, pausing as a cool breeze swept over them._

 _"You are the first person to damage me like this, my nephew," He muttered under his breath, his lips curling into a snarl, "A true abomination that's for certain. It's a shame that you've had to perish, you would have made a fine saiyan warrior. And so… I will give you a death that is worthy of one."_

 _Raditz raised his right hand, his fingertips buzzing with electrifying energy, where a lethal blast was waiting just beyond them. His entire fist crackled with lightening, and Piccolo gasped from afar, just as a thunderous roar reached their ears, and Goku hurtled towards the space pirate with venom in his eyes - !_

"I think that's enough," said Whis, cutting the projection short and causing it to retreat back into the gem of his sceptre.

" _Awww_ , I wanted to see the end!" Trunks whined, but was quickly hushed by his mother.

"You see, Gohan has always had this wild, untapped power that he has steadily been learning to control," The Angel continued to explain to the stupefied group, "In fact, this particular event is what drew me to his potential many years ago. And like the rest of you who have bore witness to his hidden strengths, I was both perplexed and intrigued by it."

"Wait a minute," the young Destroyer frowned, "I thought that you just felt my power against Cell. You were watching me all that time?"

His mentor gave him a knowing smile, "But of course. Although it was but a happy coincidence. At the time, Lord Beerus was taking a nap for a few decades, so I had been keeping an eye on Frieza and the Frieza Force for him, making sure that he wasn't causing _too_ much havoc that would threaten the universal balance. Therefore, I was rather perturbed when I saw one of his men in a Saiyan space pod divert off the beaten track and land on Planet 4032-Green-877, or Earth as you know it fondly. From what I saw that day, I knew that I had found another suitable candidate to join our recruitment process for the next Destroyer. I had been following you ever since that day - your training with the Namekian Piccolo, your battle with the Saiyans Vegeta and Nappa, The Ginyu Force, Frieza and all the way up to Cell. I was waiting for the day where you would finally pass on and be able to be tested for the Destroyer's role as I knew that you would be a most ferocious challenger. Though I must admit that I didn't expect you to die so young."

Gohan was left reeling, as Whis turned back to his father and the rest of the gang, "But I suppose that didn't matter, as Gohan had already achieved a fearsome amount of power, power that could be trained further, honed into something much greater - divine. You cannot pretend that you never thought this about his hidden strengths too, and dreamt about what he could have achieved given the chance. You saw but a hint of that true potential within the depths of The Hyperbolic Time Chamber Goku, and in turn it is what drove you to put the boy forward in your place against the fight with Cell."

Goku swallowed, the realisation hitting him full force, his mouth running dry as all eyes averting to him for but a moment, and Whis spoke again, "What I have seen from this young man over the last fifteen years has been nothing short of astounding, particularly in the last eight he has been under my charge. His training is most certainly paying off, and despite what you may believe, he is serving a purpose and a duty to the universe and is on his way to becoming a well respected and mighty Destroyer."

"But I still don't get it," said Krillin, trying desperately to understand, "You said that Destroyers eradicate planets and stuff that threatens balance, but what does that even mean, w-wiping from existence? Surely that's not the same as -!"

"It means that which it implies," Lord Beerus spoke up suddenly, clearly aggravated by the mortals questioning, "Wiping something from existence means that there is no coming back. It is gone forever, as though it never existed in the first place. Souls are unable to pass on to The Otherworld, they do not await judgement from King Yemma or have chance for redemption. A fate worse than death should you be so unlucky to have angered a God of Destruction, for they will bring said judgement unto you."

"G-Gohan," his grandfather all but whispered blindly, causing the teenager to shrink away from his stare, "Is this really true? Why couldn't you just tell us my boy?"

Piccolo scoffed, glaring angrily at the group, "Because he was terrified of what you all might think of him. Gohan has made his choice, and as his family you should be supportive of him. No wonder he didn't want to explain himself, if this is the way you're acting. It's laughable really, the majority of us have done much worse, and without reason. At least the kid has a reason for Destruction."

"Piccolo, that's not - " Bulma said tentatively, before Goku cut across her.

"Are you _kidding me_ Piccolo?!" The earth-raised saiyan yelled, his chest heaving with anger, "You _KNEW_ \- ?!"

"Please Goku, don't reprimand him for this," Dende implored, just as Gohan thought that his father was about to blow a gasket, and Piccolo therefore shortly afterwards, "Gohan only told me as the Guardian of Earth in search of the meaning behind the Super Saiyan God prophecy, Piccolo overheard. If it was up to him, he wouldn't have told anyone."

His father's eyes widened, "But I - !"

"Stop this at once Kakarot," Vegeta snapped, sticking up for the halfling much to his bewilderment, "Of course the boy didn't want to tell you, what with your aggravating self-righteous ways. Not everything in the universe is full of warm fuzzies and placid Gods like The Supreme Kai. Piccolo is right, no wonder Gohan didn't say anything, your soft-minded brain wouldn't understand."

"Vegeta, you too?" Videl asked suddenly, quietly, staring at the three of them with a mixture of shock and betrayal.

The saiyan prince's words were hard for Goku to accept, it appeared, for he refrained from replying and instead looked at Gohan with a solemn expression, "You should have just told me."

The teenager gulped, his mind drifting back to when they were washing the dishes together in the kitchen, "Dad, I-I tried, but …"

His voice trailed off, no longer having the will nor energy to defend himself. His words dying on his tongue.

"Tch, this is ridiculous," Lord Beerus snapped, breaking through the tension that swept the ship, "I've had enough of you blasted Earthlings twittering on. Gohan is to become my successor, _end_ of discussion. Now, let's hurry up and summon the Earth's Eternal Dragon before my noodles get cold."

The Z-gang were suddenly fearful of the Destroyer - all expect one, who strode angrily across the deck towards him, her hands placed defiantly upon her hips as she leered up at the deity, her lips twisted into a furious snarl.

"How _dare_ you!" Chi-Chi cried, her onyx eyes shining with fury, causing Gohan to sweat, "I don't care just who the hell you are! But my Gohan isn't going to be summoning no dragon mister!"

Lord Beerus' ears twitched in agitation, "I said he's going to summon the dragon so he _will_ summon it! Do you not realise that the fate of the universe could rest on fulfilling this prophecy?!"

"I don't give a damn!" His mother snapped viciously, causing the gang's eyes to widen in terror, especially Gohan and Vegeta's, "He needs to be with his family right now so that we can sort this all out! Don't you see how upset and confused he is?! Do you even CARE?!"

"Er, Mum -," the halfling in question started tentatively, but his words fell on deaf ears as his predecessor fumed.

"He's here to set about his destiny, not to play happy families, you stupid Earth woman!" He growled, "I can see why he didn't want to come back here in the first place, what with your _insufferable screeching_."

Chi-Chi was positively wild, causing everyone to wince, "Destiny or not, he is _my_ SON! And you and your cherub here took him away from us! He was just a _child_ and you made him make a decision far beyond what a grown man should make, much less a little boy! He should have been with his mother and father where he belonged, he had just _died_ and you - !"

"Tch, somebody silence this annoying wench before I lose my cool," Lord Beerus spat with a roll of his eyes, before Gohan saw pure rage spark across his mother's features, and it happened before anyone could stop her, and the teen could only so much as shout -

"MUM NO!"

 **SLAP!**

The young saiyan gaped, as the headstrong woman struck the God of Destruction across the cheek with a vicious open palm. A resounding gasp echoed over the ship, as the sound carried over the thrashing waves below them. Even Whis looked a little taken aback by Chi-Chi's gall.

His mother looked rather satisfied with herself, though unfortunately - it was short-lived. Lord Beerus stood stoic and unwavering, the hit not even having tilted his head in the slightest, not a mark to be seen. A low growl rumbled within his chest, his dark eyes glinted with malice as he beheld the woman in front of him.

"Lord Beerus, don't -!" Gohan cried suddenly, before it happened in slow motion, and then all at once.

He was indeed too late to stop it, as the Destroyer brought up his own arm and effortlessly backhanded Chi-Chi across the jaw in retaliation. Her entire body jolted from the force, sending her careening across the deck where she landed in a pitiful heap.

Bulma and Launch screamed, as Ox-King raced over to her unconscious form, the entire gang shaken from the deity's cruel actions.

" _MUM_!" " _CHI-CHI_!" Goten and Videl yelled in horror, sprinting to her side as a trail of blood escaped her lip, her reddened cheek already bruised from the attack.

It took a second for the halfling to come to his senses, staring at his wounded mother before her positively shook with anger, whirling around to face his superior, who seemed rather indifferent to the situation.

He was about to give Lord Beerus what was coming to him, before he was stopped short, by the alarming spike of crippling power that flooded his senses, slamming into them like a freight train. It built rapidly, surging and swelling, causing the ship to shudder and rock from the exertion.

"Y-You," his father snarled, teeth bared, seething with unyielding rage, his energy sparking all around him as a brilliant golden aura ignited around his frame. His emerald eyes seemed to grow several shades brighter, before the iris' disappeared completely, his veins bulging with fury, "Y-You _bastard_!"

Goku's power continued to grow, washing over them in waves, his black hair flashing gold and spiking upwards, waves of electricity zipping and clashing over his hulking muscles as he burst directly into the third level of super saiyan and bellowed into the high winds that roared with crackling energy. His thunderous roar of fury chilled the teenager right down to the bone, for it was just as loud and ferocious as the howl of an Oozaru.

Indeed, his father could be, if not _was_ scarier than his mother when he was angry.

" _ **DON'T YOU TOUCH MY CHI-CHI!**_ "

With that, he kicked off from the ground, the hard wooden deck splintering apart completely beneath his feet as he took to the air and charged straight towards Lord Beerus.

 **BOOM!**

The Destroyer God was just as dumbfounded as everyone else by the saiyan's sudden surge in power, so much so that he didn't even block Goku's oncoming fist that rammed into his cheek, snapping his head backwards and causing to him to stumble. A sonic boom ricocheted over the ocean, sending a quaking tremor rippling across the deck.

Gohan's mouth fell open in shock, as his father poured all of his anger into following up in his attack, sending a powerful uppercut straight into Lord Beerus' stomach and striking him again with a crippling head-butt that sent the deity soaring into the air.

How the bloody hell had he even managed to land a hit on him?!

Ignoring Vegeta's irate cries of " _KAKAROT ARE YOU INSANE?!"_ Goku cupped his hands to the side, a bright blue hue of energy swirling in his palms before he unleashed it into the sky. It hurtled towards Lord Beerus, where it connected with a devastating shockwave that blew the clouds away from the upper atmosphere. The cruiser nearly tipped over from the sheer force alone, sea water spilling onto the deck as an enormous wave crashed over them.

Though his father appeared not to have noticed that he had subsequently drenched the passengers of the ship, as his emerald eyes steadily came back into focus, the blackened dust clouds clearing and revealing the Destroyer hanging in the sky - completely unharmed.

"Are you done?" He asked, picking his teeth in a bored manner, his dark eyes narrowing at the flabbergasted saiyan looking back at him, panting from the effort, a bead of sweat trailing from his brow.

"H-How - ?"

Faster than lightening, Lord Beerus phased in front of him, his lips drawing into a smirk as he managed to startle the strong super saiyan three, "And here was me thinking that the man who sired my successor would've proven to be a formidable adversary. What a disappointment."

He didn't give Goku a chance to reply, nor any warning to the sudden strike to the chest that sent him crashing into the railings of the ship. The metal rungs groaned and bent outwards, his crumpled body smashing out of the other side, skidding across the waves and sending a raining cascade of salty water up into the air before he was engulfed by them completely.

"DAD!" Gohan cried, making to speed after him when he was stopped suddenly by Goten, who blocked his path with hatred in his eyes.

"Stay the hell away from my dad!" He spat cruelly, his hands balls into fists, "This is all YOUR _fault_!"

He followed his gaze over to their mother who was being tended to by Videl and his grandfather. She was awake, thank goodness, though a little dazed and clutching her face in pain. She looked fearfully out towards the ocean where their father had fell and back to them, tears in her eyes.

"G-Goten I -," he stammered, though the young boy didn't let him finish.

"Just hurry up and leave already," he snapped viciously, "Nobody wants you here!"

His heart sank, the reality of his brother's words hitting him full force like a punch to the gut. He was stunned into submission, as Goten burst into his super saiyan form, blowing the hair away from his face before shooting after his father.

"H-He took Goku out with one blow!" Yamcha spluttered blindly, looking horrified at the God before them.

"Great Kami, what _is_ he?" mustered Krillin.

"He's a monster!" Puar squeaked, trembling as she hid behind an equally fearful Oolong.

"Well, if he's going to attack us, then there's only one thing for it," Master Roshi glowered, his sunglasses flashing in the summer sun, grasping his staff tightly as his muscles bulges with power, "Let's roll!"

"Oh dear, this isn't going to end well," observed Whis calmly.

"DON'T!" Gohan gasped desperately, snapping to his senses as the Z-Fighters suddenly sprang into action.

But it was in vain, as with a battle cry, Tien, Eighteen, Roshi, Krillin, Yamcha, Videl, Trunks and even Majin Buu leapt towards Lord Beerus with furious intent. Their white, pulsating aura's intermingled with the gold of Trunks' super saiyan energy and the red Kiao-ken of Videl's as they charged headlong at the Destroyer.

"Oh for the love of - !" Vegeta griped, exploding into super saiyan three and making a beeline after them, giving in as Lord Beerus struck the first wave of Tien, Eighteen and Master Roshi down with a single shockwave of Ki.

They hit the deck harshly, Marron running over to her mother whilst shouting up at her father to ' _Go get the bad kitty-cat_!' Though Krillin wound up in the same predicament as Eighteen, catching himself on a rubber dingy just before he plunged into the sea, before he was pulled back up to the ship by Launch and Chaiozu.

Gohan was rooted to the spot, feeling utterly helpless, not knowing what to do or where to turn as his predecessor took down the Z-Fighters one by one.

Yamcha and Majin Buu cried out in agony, as Lord Beerus flung a fired-up Videl effortlessly over his shoulder by her elbow and smashed all three of their skulls painfully together, sending them flying back through the skies and towards the deck.

The Destroyer easily evaded a combined Galic Gun from Trunks and Vegeta, blowing it away with his breath alone, the brilliant purple beams firing up into the atmosphere where it exploded with a cataclysmic **BOOM** that surged through the air around them. Piccolo, reluctantly brought up the rear of the charge, though before he could so much as fire up his own attack, was his bicep grabbed by Lord Beerus and he was sent spiralling across the clouds, crashing into both Trunks and Vegeta with a loud **WALLOP** that caused all them to howl in pain.

The halfling was horrified, as in seconds, it was over. Done. And Lord Beerus was left suitably furious.

The Z-Fighters cringed and hissed from their afflictions, tentatively struggling to their feet where they had landed, left reeling from shock and frustration as the God of Destruction glared back at them, enraged by the mortals' performance.

There was a cough and splutter behind them, as Goku and Goten landed back on the ship. Coughing up a lung full of water, his hair and eyes now back to black as he allowed his youngest to steady him, the earth-raised saiyan glared up at Lord Beerus with a snarl before Chi-Chi barrelled into him.

"Goku! Oh Goku, are you alright?!" She gasped, uncaring that he was sopping wet and hugging him tight, sea water dripping onto the wooden deck.

"I-I'm fine Chi," he mustered, his fingers gently brushing her jaw as his eyes searched the wound on her cheek, "Are you okay? I'm sorry I couldn't stop him, he moved so fast and I… he's stronger than anyone I've ever faced. I don't think that I've ever been punched that hard before."

"Oh Goku," she sniffed.

"Don't worry Mum, Dad," Goten said boldly, his golden hair wavering in the salty breeze as his eyes narrowed at Gohan, who was watching the exchange intently - longing to go over to them, "I won't let _either_ of them hurt us again."

The teenager looked away quickly, missing the obvious shock that swept over his parents' features.

"Sweetheart," Chi-Chi tried, "That's not -."

" _Earthlings_ ," Lord Beerus glowered suddenly, causing them to jump into their fighting stances once again, as he lowered himself back to the ship, "Today is your lucky day. I have a mind to Destroy you and your pathetic world for your blatant disrespect towards a God, though I would rather not put up with Gohan's whining that would no doubt plague me for the next few centuries. But just know this, you have displeased me a great deal, and should you so much as raise a finger towards me again then I won't hesitate to wipe this entire solar system from existence."

They were silent with both fear and anger, as the cat-like God turned towards Gohan, "Now, hurry up and summon the dragon so we can get off this hell-hole of a world!"

"B-But - ," the halfling stuttered, "Lord Beerus, I - !"

" _NOW,_ boy!" He snarled, "Don't make me tell you again!"

The young Destroyer winced at his harsh tone, looking towards his family and friends in desperation. He couldn't believe that it had come to this, the lot of them beaten and left disgusted and fearful of his new role in the universe. Goten was still holding up his father, glaring daggers at him whilst his mother began to cry, hot tears streaking down her bruised cheeks before she buried her face into his father's wet gi. He couldn't even bring himself to look at Videl - it hurt too much to see the anger in her eyes.

And worst of all, he wouldn't be able to stick around long enough to make this right. He didn't want it to end like this.

"Damn it, just do as he says!" Vegeta growled, his own exhaustion evident as he had dropped out of his transformation minutes ago, looking towards a nervous Dende, "Hurry up and get the dragonballs before he changes his mind and condemns us all to oblivion!"

"O-Oh!" The young Namekian blustered, cheeks reddening, "Y-Yes! Of course! R-Right away L-Lord Beerus s-sir!"

"You know, Vegeta," Lord Beerus observed with a wry smile, "That's the smartest thing that you've said all day."

The prince gritted his teeth in anger, as Dende scrambled over with a large brown sack, tipping it upside down so that the seven orange orbs spilled out and rolled rather heavily upon the wooden decking, coming to a halt directly in front of Gohan's feet.

Dende quickly bowed his head deeply towards Lord Beerus, backing away as he did so, "T-The dragonballs, my Lord."

"Excellent," the Destroyer quirked, the small size of them amusing him somewhat as he looked towards Gohan, "I think it's only proper for you to do the honours."

The young saiyan sighed heavily, pausing for a moment. _Well,_ he thought, _it **is** what I came here to do_.

"Eternal Dragon," He spoke formerly, concentrating his gaze solely on the mystical dragonballs and purposely not looking his family in the eye. Reluctantly recounting the words that he had heard so many times and raising his hands over the orbs that began to glow and pulsate with light, "By your name I summon you forth, Shenron!"

The dragonballs glowed even brighter, a brilliant golden hue escaping them and lighting up the ship in its entirety. The waiting staff had long disappeared to the safe sanctity of the cabins since the fight had broken out, and it was a good job too, for they would have gotten quite the fright as the blue sky above them steadily turned pitch black and a sparking tunnel of golden light sprang from the seven magical dragonballs.

It swirled and spiralled upwards, before the green scales of the almighty dragon of dreams became prominent against the black backdrop of the sky. Shenron roared, his long, world-eclipsing body twisting around himself as he towered over the deck of the cruiser, sharp claws pointed towards him, pointed teeth glinting as the light died down.

He observed the awaiting summoner with glowing crimson eyes, his voice booming around them, "You have summoned me. State your wishes and I shall grant - !"

To their bewilderment, Shenron suddenly stopped short, his breath hitching in his throat as he regarded the young saiyan before him.

Gohan frowned in confusion, was he… _sweating?!_

"O-Oh!" The dragon stammered, "I-It's you Lord Gohan! F-Forgive me, I didn't know it was you! N-Nice to meet you, I-I'm sure you don't remember b-but we've met before actually… I'm a big fan!"

The halfling was just as astounded as everyone else, their jaws dropping to the floor. He had never seen Shenron so _frazzled_ before.

"You know who I am?" Gohan asked uncertainty, he didn't think that the Eternal Dragon took note of those who had summoned him before.

"B-But of course!" He implored, his bold voice resonating through their chests, "You are one of the great Destroyers of this universe, and celestial entities such as myself are well informed about the Gods, old and young, and ones that come into fruition. T-That being said, e-excuse me for looking down upon you like this, i-it's the height you see, and you aren't exactly… I-I m-mean er! Not that y-you're _short_ my Lord, n-not at all - ! I'm just rather big -!"

"It's fine," The teenager interrupted, wondering just how many beings knew about his height problems when he first started out in his Destroyer training - he refused to believe that he had developed a complex, "Really."

Shenron breathed a sigh of relief, before clearing his throat, "So, what can I do for you oh great one?"

"Well, I just wondered if you knew anything about a Super Saiyan God," he began to explain, "You see, Lord Beerus had this dream that -"

"LORD BEERUS IS HERE _TOO_?!" The celestial being shrieked in pure terror, his large head looking all about him before his red eyes settled on the Destroyer in question, who raised a hand in salute. "Oh _there_ you are my Lord, it is truly an honour to - !"

"Yes, yes," Lord Beerus sighed in annoyance, "Stop grovelling and get on with it, Dragon. We're in a bit of a rush. Do you know of the Super Saiyan God or not? I had a premonition of a mighty warrior that would take on this supposed divine form that could rival the Gods themselves."

"O-Oh y-yes my L-Lord, right away," said Shenron, before straightening up and clearing his throat once more, suddenly becoming serious, "I am aware of the God that you describe."

Gohan's eyes widened, hope rising in his chest and momentarily chasing away the hurt that lingered there - and he thought that Lord Beerus' daft dream was going to be a dead end!

"That's great!" The halfling spouted, "So is it a transformation? Has someone achieved it before? Because I could really do with someone teaching me how to do it to have any shot of defeating Perses if he escapes…"

"L-Lord P-Perses?" Shenron gulped, "Oh goodness, it appears that the universe is falling on hard times once more… Well, er, the truth is that someone has indeed achieved this form before, many eons ago. Although I can't exactly summon one at this time I'm afraid."

"Why not?" He frowned, causing the Dragon to fumble over his words once more.

"W-well, Lord Gohan," He mustered nervously, "I humbly regret to inform you that although the Super Saiyan God was spoken about in ancient Saiyan mythology that has since been lost to time, no such deity exists in the present day, unfortunately."

"But you said that there was a Super Saiyan God before?" he asked.

Shenron nodded, "Long ago, a small group of pure-hearted saiyans questioned the evil committed by their race. The good saiyans decided to lead a revolt against the bad, and to ensure victory pulled their powers together to create a saviour - a Super Saiyan God. The saviour easily defeated the evil saiyans with his immense divine power, but he then vanished as quickly as he came, as the energy that the good saiyans offered him could not last for long. In time, evil again took root on Planet Vegeta, and the memory of the Super Saiyan God became all but myth and lost altogether."

Gohan looked over to Vegeta, whose mouth had fallen open at Shenron's tale. It really did look like the Dragon was right and that the myth of this supposed saiyan deity had disappeared along with the saiyan's home world. He couldn't help but wonder if the legend may have referred to that of the super saiyan too, or if both legends had gotten muddled up somehow.

"And so it remains trapped in myth, and there is no Super Saiyan God in existence," Shenron continued, "However, if you would like to know the method for creating one, then it would be a great honour to tell you."

The teenager waited, along with Lord Beerus and Whis, causing the magical being to blanch.

"O-Oh _now_? Y-Yes, right away my Lord!" He fretted anxiously, "The process is as follows - five pure-hearted saiyans must join hands and instil their inner light into another, with their friends energy flowing through them, this saiyan will take on the form of a Super Saiyan God. A-And that's pretty much everything you need to know, so er, c-can I go now?"

"Wait," said Gohan, his eyebrows knitting together in thought as he ignored Shenron's pleas, "That's not enough! There are only five saiyans, we need six!"

"What a waste of time!" Lord Beerus positively snarled, a vein throbbing in his temple as he aimed a deadly open palm towards the Dragon, " _Useless_! I might as well Destroy this incompetent bumbling lizard!"

"NO PLEASE!" Shenron cried desperately, his sudden shriek echoing around them as he quickly became embarrassed by his outburst, "I-I mean, there are actually _six_ saiyans here my Lords. Well, I mean technically speaking… one isn't exactly here _here_ if you really think about it, but that's not objectively - "

"What _are_ you talking about?" Gohan griped, starting to get annoyed. There were only five saiyans after all, he had counted them himself. Shenron must be getting old - or desperate.

"W-well, you see, there is yourself Lord Gohan, a half-saiyan," the Eternal Dragon tried to explain, tilting his head to each saiyan as he counted, "along with two more halflings here - Goten and Trunks, the two full-bloodied saiyans Prince Vegeta and Kakarot which makes five, and then of course, the unborn saiyan that lies within the womb of that Human girl over there."

Snapping his head towards where Shenron had pointed at the same time as everyone else did, Gohan visibly paled. His onyx eyes nearly boggled right out of his head, his mouth running completely dry and a horrible sinking feeling of dread hitting his stomach like a deadweight. _No, it couldn't be._

Videl looked just as shocked as he did, her mouth hanging open as she all but whispered, " _W-What?_ "

"VIDEL?!" Mister Satan let out a strangled cry before anyone could so much as speak, grabbing her shoulders and looking into her disbelieving eyes, "Y-YOU'RE _PREGNANT_?!"

The girl shook her head frantically, tearing her gaze away from Shenron and towards her father, before looking down at her flat stomach and back at him again, "N-No! I-I… I mean _WHAT_?! I-I mean, I-I _don't know_?!"

Though it seemed that what Videl thought didn't matter, as Hercule was suddenly furious, whirling around and staring daggers at a similarly flabbergasted Goku, who had not taken his wide eyes off his son.

" _YOU!_ " He roared, nose to nose with the saiyan warrior, his entire face red with anger, "Just what the hell do you think you're playing at?! You were supposed to be _training_ my daughter, not -!"

"Woah _woah_ Hercule!" Goku squeaked, his hands raised in defence as he looked all shades of mortified, "You've _completely_ got the wrong idea - !"

"That's right!" Chi-Chi yelled back at him, utterly livid, "Just what do you think you're accusing my husband of?!"

But the ex-champion of the world wasn't listening to reason, rounding on a rather perplexed Vegeta, "Then it must be _HIM_! That mystical Dragon doesn't LIE! And you can look tough all you want pretty boy! I don't care just how strong you are! Super saiyan's or not I'll STRANGLE you for putting your filthy alien hands on my little girl - !"

Vegeta growled, though he was clearly embarrassed by the accusation, his cheeks turning a dark shade of crimson, "Don't be absurd!"

"Yeah, are you _crazy_?!" Bulma shouted hotly.

"DAD FOR GOODNESS _SAKE_!" Videl bellowed, stepping in between her father and Vegeta, the latter whom she was certain was about to blast the former into oblivion, " _Of course_ it isn't Goku or Vegeta's, great _Kami_! It's Gohan's!"

She seemed to realise her mistake just as the words flew from her lips. Videl slapped her hands over her mouth, her sapphire eyes wide as she looked towards Gohan - who had yet to summon enough brain power to speak.

"W-What?" Hercule blinked, calming down considerably, though he seemed incredibly confused, "G-Gohan's?"

"Sweetheart, i-is this true?" Chi-Chi mustered, though the young saiyan couldn't help but notice the smallest sparkle to her eyes as she regarded him.

He was frozen, as all eyes averted to him once more. His entire body was numb, until fear and trepidation hit him like a sledgehammer, his chest growing unbearably tight with guilt, longing and a hefty handful of regret that threatened to eclipse him. No one spoke for what seemed like a full minute, all of them too stunned to do so, probably even more so than when Jaco revealed that he was a Destroyer.

Speaking of, the patrolman's voice was the only sound that filtered through the air, though no one seemed to have noticed. Jaco rested upon the hood of his spacecraft, wolfing down a bag of popcorn as he mustered quietly under his breath, " _Ooooh! What a scandal_!"

In all honesty, he wasn't quite certain which revelation was worse - although he was about to find out, as raging fist suddenly thwacked him right over the head.

"YOU STUPID BOY!" Lord Beerus roared, spit flying into his face and causing him to wince, the Destroyer was positively seething, "You had one job! _ONE_ job! Summon the transformation of a Super Saiyan God, not sire a demigod!"

"B-But _how_?!" The teenager spluttered, the more logical part of his brain suddenly kicking in and overriding everything else, "T-There must be some mistake! I'M DEAD! I-I don't understand how that could even happen!"

Above them, Shenron cleared his throat, a slight blush to his green-scaled cheeks, "Well you see, my Lord, when a man and a woman love each other very much - "

"I _KNOW_ HOW IT WORKS!" Gohan bellowed hotly, causing the poor dragon to shrink back out of sheer fright. Though before he could unleash his embarrassment and anger any further, was his predecessor upon him again.

"IDIOT!" Lord Beerus cried, frothing at the mouth by this point, "Have you learned _nothing_ from your time amongst the divine?!"

The halfling was utterly confounded, as the God yelled so hard that his ears started to ring, "You still _bleed_ don't you?! Huh?! Do you still feel pain?! Do you still get hungry? Tired? _Thirsty_?! Why?! Why out of _everything_ did you think THAT wouldn't work?!"

His eyes widened in realisation, damning his stupidity straight to HFIL, "I-I -!"

"Damned, randy brat!" He continued with fury in his eyes, "Gods aren't subject to the rules of the dead, remember?! We are allowed to mix with mortals and as such have certain _privileges,_ dead or not! WHY do you think that there are rules you _imbecile_?! They existed long before Perses was even born! When are you going to grow up and start acting responsibly?! You _fail_ to Destroy things as we tell you, you run head long into situations without thought for your own safety or do I NEED to remind you of your battle with Zamasu?! And NOW - !"

"Do you think that I _plan_ for this kind of thing to happen?!" Gohan snapped back suddenly, "I just _lost_ it with Zamasu alright?! Sometimes you just LOSE it!"

"And it appears you lost all of your senses whilst shacking it up with that _floozy_!" Lord Beerus seethed, ignoring the teenager who snarled at the insult, " _We_ cant afford to 'lose it'! Other people 'lose it'! Lower Gods and mortals 'lose it'! We are supposed to _find it_! **_We_** are held to higher standards of behaviour, we are the ones that others look up to! Can you at least _try_ to grasp that concept boy?!"

"The concept _is_ grasped!" The halfling yelled, causing his predecessor to scoff.

"Well CLEARLY the execution is illusive! Do have have _any_ idea what you've done?!"

He didn't answer, didn't know _how_ to answer, for he had broken about a million ancient rules in the worst way possible.

"So er… may I go now?" Shenron whimpered, causing both Destroyers to snarl up at him.

" _YES!_ "

The Eternal Dragon left hurriedly, a great tunnel of golden light shooting upwards as he vanished, the dragonballs firing into the atmosphere before splitting up and shooting across the sky, scattering around the Earth once more, the darkness lifting from them as the blue skies returned.

Whis walked briskly past them at that moment, his features troubled and knitted in concern as he strode over to Videl, pointing the gem of his staff at her lower abdomen.

"W-What are you -?!" She demanded, though her words were a little weak, as her stomach began to hum with a soft silvery glow, much to the shock of everyone present.

"Hm, it appears as though Shenron is right," the Angel spoke aloud, his frown deepening considerably, "This embryo is just over two Earth weeks old in its development. It has a genetic make up that equates to one quarter saiyan and three quarters human. Its life energy is incredibly strong for its gestation, almost… divine in its nature."

"D-Divine?" Gohan stammered, as the glow around Videl's stomach dwindled.

"Yes Gohan," his mentor nodded solemnly, disappointment in his eyes, "The child would grow to be very strong if allowed to live."

Videl gasped along with his mother and Hercule, unconsciously smacking Whis' sceptre away from her, "A-Allowed it to _live_?! What the hell do you mean by that?!"

"Y-You can't -!" the young saiyan started, his mind whirring with the fact that his and Videl's child was nestled comfortably within her womb, growing with life, unbeknownst of the danger it was currently in.

"Oh, can't I?" Lord Beerus spoke dangerously, "And do you think that this will go down lightly?"

He snapped his mouth shut, as the Destroyer continued, slapping a hand to his forehead in despair, "I can't _believe_ that you could be so stupid! So reckless! Breaking the code! Running unprepared into battle is one thing, but THIS?! Ugh, the Divine Council is going to have a field day."

"But I-I -!"

"Lord Beerus is right Gohan," said Whis firmly, eyeing him, "This has certainly put a spanner in the works, we'd best hope that they don't strip you of your divinity and standing for this."

"WHAT?!" The teenager balked, as his mentor sighed.

"There might be a _smidgen_ of leeway for us to work with so that it doesn't come to that," he informed him, his expression still grave, "You are only a junior deity after all, so that has to count for something. Either way, your actions are still punishable by default, siring a bastard with a mortal is a _big_ no, no."

"I-I don't want them to get hurt," Gohan pleaded, attempting to ignore his hurtful words. His eyes averted to Videl who was staring at him with an expression that he couldn't quite read, her father pulling her into a protective one armed hug that she did not return, "Please. I didn't mean for this to happen, any of it - !"

" _Enough_ with your excuses," snapped Lord Beerus, his dark eyes narrowing at him, "We have enough on our plate without you screwing things up… LITERALLY. This is going to take an _age_ to sort out! Now hurry up and perform this blasted saiyan God ritual before I change my mind about blowing up this pestilent world that appears to be the source of your incompetence!"

He paused, looking longingly at Videl once more. Everyone else seemed to fade into the background along with their astonished expressions, their flabbergasted mutterings, even his parents and Piccolo, who were all rendered speechless in light of his apparent fatherhood.

His eyes locked with hers, he wished that he could take them both away from this place. He _needed_ to talk with her, plead with her. Tell her how sorry he was, to _try_ and figure this whole mess out, even if it was futile. His heart strained painfully against his chest, threatening to shatter. He didn't want to leave. And how could he? How could he just disappear like this and leave Videl, leave her... _pregnant_ and alone...

This wasn't right, _none_ of it was right. He didn't want to achieve the power of Gods like this. He didn't think that any of them would be even willing to help him anyway. Not after what he had done.

" _GET ON WITH IT_!" Lord Beerus snarled, following the halfling's gaze and pointed a deadly open palm towards Videl and the surrounding saiyans, fingers reaching towards the sky, the Hakai waiting right behind it, "Before I lose what's left of my patience and Destroy the evidence and take the Earth down with her!"

Gohan swallowed thickly, feeling utterly defeated, his stomach in knots as his eyes pleaded with them, "Please everyone. H-he's not joking around."

Vegeta regarded him for a few moments before breaking the silence. "Let's just do it," he told them gruffly, walking towards the halfling with Trunks quickly following suit, "I'm quite curious as to this Super Saiyan God myself."

Goku sighed heavily, letting out a shaky breath and glancing worriedly between him and Videl before looking back at Goten, "Come on son."

The young boy scowled, before reluctantly following his father, joining the circle that had quickly started to form around the teenager.

Videl's sapphire gaze quickly averted away from him as she joined the group, though Gohan needed to talk to her, to say - something. Turning towards her as she brushed past him, he opened his mouth to speak, but all he managed to muster was a weak, "V-Videl, thank you. I - "

"I'm doing it for the Earth," she said coldly without a second glance, holding hands with both Goten and Trunks as they stood behind him, grasping onto their respective fathers.

The halfling faltered, he could have sworn that his heart had broken completely in two, though he had no time to plead with her any further as Vegeta and his father rested their palms upon his back, feeling their eyes burning into him as they did so. The Z-gang stepped back a few paces, watching intently, whilst Whis and Lord Beerus stood a ways off - waiting.

"Remember," he heard his father speak, though his tone sounded a little strained, "Focus your inner light into Gohan. This is important, no holding back."

The young Destroyer waited, quashing down his heartache as much as he could, the salty sea breeze grabbing at his hair, closing his eyes in the same manner as the rest of them. Seconds passed, and then about a minute, but Gohan didn't feel any different, or _anything at all_ for that matter.

"Brat," Vegeta spoke up, opening one eye curiously, "Do you feel anything?"

"No," he replied, frowning, "Not a thing. It must be you Vegeta, Shenron said that the saiyans doing the ritual had to have a pure heart, right?"

"Don't blame it on me!" He guffawed in offence, opening his eyes fully, "And look who's talking mister Destroyer!"

"No Dad, that's can't be right," Trunks argued before Gohan could retort, blinking up at them, "Gohan was able to ride Nimbus, he can't be all that bad."

"Maybe it's the baby then," said Goten, shooting his older brother a glare, "I mean, it is part Gohan."

"Oi!" The teenager glowered, whirling around to face him, "Watch what you're saying you little - !"

"BOYS!" Goku shouted, staring them down, "Stop it, the both of you. This isn't helping. If we don't want Lord Beerus to destroy the planet then we need to do this."

"Kakarot is right," said Vegeta, "Let's brush off our indifferences and _focus_. Forget Lord Beerus, this transformation could be the only thing to stop Zamasu and Perses. The entire universe is at stake here."

Their eyes suddenly hardened with a fierce determination, even Videl's. "Alright," said Goten, "I'll do it."

"Good!" Lord Beerus called angrily, "Now hurry up and stop dawdling!"

A silent understanding filtered between them, as they closed their eyes in perfect sync.

The air felt different, calmer, more purposeful than before. The seagulls and exotic birds had long retreated, no whales, dolphins or even any fish dared to threaten to break the surface of the ocean. The waves lapped slowly against the hull, the ship creaking steadily in motion.

His father and Vegeta's strong hands pressed more firmly against his shoulder blades. He could hear their breath from here, relaxed yet etched with anticipation at the edges. The warmth of their palms radiated through his bare skin, despite a passing cloud blocking out some of the sunshine overhead.

 ** _Ba-dum. Ba-dum._**

There was a beat. A sudden, rapid beat that came out of nowhere. It drummed through his chest, as though his heart was attempting to beat when it was gone as quickly as it had came.

He kept his eyes closed tightly shut, though it was difficult, as a yellow glow crept into his line of sight, lighting up his eyelids and prompting him to open them back up again, squinting at the sudden brightness. The Z-gang gasped, staring disbelievingly at the space behind him, and the halfling was about to ask what the hell was happening when his brother's awe-filled shout echoed in his ears.

"Woah Videl! Your belly is glowing!"

Gohan whirled around in panic, his focus wavering as he caught sight of the brilliant light that was without a doubt shining from Videl's womb. Golden fingers of light stretched out all around them, casting shadows on the wooden deck and lighting up the saiyans stunned faces.

He could _feel_ it, and he was certain that the rest of them could too. The Ki inside of Videl that shone out suddenly from her own. It was something so magnificent and terrifying all at the same time. But not because of its strength - he doubted that such a tiny fetus could be detected under normal circumstances - no, it was because it was so connected to him.

His child.

Goosebumps erupted over his skin, causing the small hairs on his arms to stand to attention, a rush of longing and something much warmer that he had come to associate with Videl filled every part of his body without warning. It was something even stronger, barreling into his broken heart and mending it momentarily, as if the very feeling was emitting from the tiny little being itself.

"M-My body," Videl gasped lightly, experiencing exactly the same sensation as what Gohan was, "I-It feels so warm…"

The breeze picked up around them, blowing her long raven hair away from her face before it swiftly turned golden. Though Gohan wasn't sure whether it was from the others energy that swept around them all at once, or from the child inside her.

The warm light passed around them, filtering to Goten and Trunks, and then to their fathers. The young saiyan swiftly felt his hair spike upwards, the furious power of the super saiyan transformation flooding his veins in one foul swoop - and it felt much stronger than he had ever thought possible.

Though before he could offer his own bewilderment, Vegeta suddenly snapped at him.

"Damn it, concentrate boy!" He growled, forcing the young saiyan to turn back around.

The light shining around them grew even more intense, as their intermingled energies poured into him like a vessel. His power swelled, and he could feel the heat from their transformations burning right through him. They gave him everything, their hearts, their courage, their fight, their love and also their regrets and anger. He felt it swirling and fester inside of him, pulling at his heartstrings and intermingling with the core of his own Ki.

He felt his veins begin to burn too, as though the searing heat was boiling his very blood. A wavering golden aura built around the five, before feeding unto him. He gasped, as his feet lifted from the ground of their own accord, his father and Vegeta keeping their hands firm against him, as a tunnel of yellow light began to filter from the centre of their entwined circle, golden particles lifting into the air and causing the skies to darken for the second time that day. The air started to pressurise around them, becoming heavier, thicker, _denser_ \- the sudden weight on his senses all too familiar to him as divine energy.

No sooner had he thought it, did it start to spread across the sky in humid wisps of yellow clouds, as though it were fingers reaching to touch every inch of the atmosphere. The ocean below bubbled and popped, encircling around itself from the pressure and causing several maelstroms to materialise within its deep blue depths, quickly turning yellow in colour as though someone had replaced the entire sea with liquid gold.

Luckily, no vortex was close enough to the ship to pull them in, the _Princess Bulma_ coming to a halt all on its own. The Z-gang gaped, as the golden mist of clouds swirled around the sky above, eclipsing the blueness completely before the rest of the saiyans and Videl were lifted into the air to join Gohan.

"Videl, are you okay?" he heard Goten ask in concern, golden particles sparkling all around them.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," she replied tentatively, her wide eyes glistening in the soft glow, still bowled over by the warm energy emitting from her womb in pulsating waves.

His body gave a sudden jolt of pain, as the heat was becoming unbearable. It burned like white hot flames that wrapped around his muscles and attempted to melt his tendons away, spreading to his bones and threatening to reduce them to ash.

He accidentally let out an involuntary hiss of pain, his father quickly catching on to his discomfort, "Gohan, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," he breathed, although everything was hurting dreadfully right now, "I-It's just that I feel really achy all over."

"Tch, stop whining," Vegeta spat in annoyance, "You're about to obtain the power of a God. If you want, we could switch places."

The teenager couldn't help but roll his eyes through the haze of agony, though his retort was promptly cut short, as a dazzling hue of silvery blue engulfed them. The pain stopped suddenly, although the subsequent surge of divine energy took his breath away, protruding from the saiyan baby inside Videl, passing through the circle and right the way to him until his entire body began to glow.

It filled him up until it was blinding, all consuming, as a torrent of hurricane-like winds picked up around them. It fled over the ship, blowing back the umbrellas and uprooting the tables and deckchairs. Food stalls screeched and skidded on the hard wooden deck, some of them toppling overboard and plunging into the now golden waters.

The Z-gang crossed their arms in front of their faces in order to protect themselves from the tempest, shielding the less strong amongst them as best they could when - it stopped. The cloud filled sky still remained, though the dazzling silver light disappeared, flooding into Gohan's being, along with the golden tunnel of light that quickly disintegrated, painting his body completely with the bright light so that only a shining silhouette remained.

"I-Is it over?" Bulma whimpered, grasping worriedly onto Eighteen who had been protecting her from the rapid winds.

Piccolo grunted. His eyes narrowed, "Not yet."

 **KA-BOOM!**

The light erupted again, though this time, more vibrant and gleaming than ever before. It seemed to exude right out of Gohan like a gigantic beacon, pouring over the sides of the ship as it eclipsed the entire South Pacific Ocean. It cloaked the sky, building and building with rapid gusto, hitting the yellow mist and parting it as though it had just burned a hole right through the atmosphere.

A plethora of glistening stars and colourful, twinkling galaxies shone back at them, as if the rest of the universe were watching the birth of a Saiyan God take place. The cruise ship was encompassed by the thick yellow clouds, so much so that no one could see anything past them, their only way out of the pressurised abyss was the vastness of Space above them.

"I-Incredible," Tien mustered, as the occupants of the cruiser couldn't believe what they were witnessing, the ritual more grand than they had ever thought possible. Though in all honesty, they weren't entirely certain just _what_ they had been expecting.

The heavens opened, allowing for heavy rain to batter the deck, large globules of water pattering against every inch of the ship as a cascade of lightening bolts rippled and thrashed overhead. The only ones not bothered by the sudden change in weather were Whis and Lord Beerus, who hadn't once kept their eyes off of their student, even when the rain froze and turned to hail, then snow, nor when the sun shone brightly back at them once more.

Day turned to night, and night turned to day, the sun peaking through the gap in the clouds before disappearing and reappearing again, as though the Earth was rotating rapidly around the sun as it spun wildly on its axis. And then whether the planet stopped spinning or something even more spectacular happened altogether was anyones guess, as golden rays shone down upon them, bathing the _Princess Bulma_ in a brilliant glow.

But it didn't stop there, as a quaking tremor shook the whole world, and the pressure in the air built even further so that it was _suffocating_. Goku, Vegeta and the others struggled to hold on, the heaviness constricting their lungs painfully, the staggering rise in temperature not helping in the slightest. They grasped each others hands even tighter, sweating profusely and digging their fingernails into Gohan's skin as he became even more luminescent, the golden light swiftly turning an alarming red.

Though they quickly had no choice but to recoil, the heat radiating from the halfling suddenly too much to bare. Both Goku and Vegeta hissed and rubbed their burning hands, dropping out of super saiyan at the same time as Goten and Trunks, Videl's now raven locks coming to a rest over her shoulders.

They stared as they were lowered back to the deck not of their own accord, panting as they suddenly felt incredibly weak. Vegeta quickly grabbed Videl, being the closest to her as she stumbled, steadying the girl as her knees buckled underneath her. Goku's features knitted in concern, though nodded at the prince gratefully, his gaze drifting to his eldest son who was still floating in midair, surging with a pressurised force and was engulfed by the crimson light that painted his entire form, nothing was recognisable but his reddish silhouette that hovered before them.

It was unlike any transformation that they had seen before, especially from Gohan. From what they had seen from the halfling in all their years, his transformations had always been explosive, like a volcano erupting and spilling out a cascade of power that flooded them completely like bubbling hot waves of lava. Always accompanied by screams of anguish or fury that shook their bones to the core. But this was not like any super saiyan they knew that was for certain. For despite the staggering force that battered against their senses, it was calm, quiet. One might say almost eerily so.

Nobody dared to utter a sound, that was except Whis, whose musical chuckle echoed around them.

"Well, my Lord," he said, eyes alight with the crimson glow, "It appears as though that premonition of yours has come to light. His Ki his ultimately Divine."

Lord Beerus hummed in agreement, though refrained from saying anything as the light slowly began to fade.

"G-Gohan?" Krillin asked tentatively through the silent and dumbfounded crowd, "I-Is that really you?"

The pressure lifted all at once, the yellow clouds breaking apart and dispersing immediately as the Junior Destroyer was finally revealed in a sprinkle of divine energy that filtered into the air. A resounding gasp sounded at the sight of him, the gang hardly believing their eyes.

His long mass of hair was a startling shade of magenta, though the ends were not at all spiked upwards like it was as a super saiyan, instead it was long and flowing, still tied back in that messy ponytail of his. He looked as though he had shed a tiny bit of weight too, his muscles leaner and his cheekbones a little more defined. He stared unblinkingly back at them with wide crimson irises, lowering himself back down to their level, his feet tapping soundlessly against the wooden deck.

An aura of calmness encompassed him, a far cry from the emotional cyclone of desperation and despair that he had been moments earlier.

Though despite the hot air that continued to unfurl around them, the most noticeable difference was that they couldn't feel - _anything_ from him, his energy completely undetectable. Well, amongst the mortals at least.

"Well, well," Lord Beerus smirked, looking the halfling up and down in satisfaction, "It looks like you've done it. A Super Saiyan God."

Gohan finally broke out of his trance, looking down at himself. Power like he had never felt tingled through every part of him. It felt strangely calming, effortless. _Divine_.

"Y-You really think so?" He asked. Even his own voice sounded different! It was rounded and wholesome, with a small delay like an echo as an undertone that seemed to reverberate through every one of them.

"Let's test it out, shall we?" The Destroyer smirked, a malicious glint in his eyes that was borderline playful, "If you win then I'll strive to make sure that your punishment for breaking the Divine Law isn't so damning. Lose, and I'll break my promise and Destroy this planet along with that gravid Earthling girl, you've obviously become oh so… _attached_."

"You _dare_ ," The young saiyan growled, feeling the iron enter is soul. His godly tone reverberating over the ship, his crimson eyes as hard as steel.

"Oh I dare," Lord Beerus goaded, "Are you going to stop me, Gohan?"

A startled cry of horror echoed around the ship, as the Destroyer released a deadly blast from his palm without warning. It careened straight towards a terror-stricken Videl, the vibrant violet light illuminating her wide, frantic eyes, and it happened so fast that no one could intercept - !

 **BOOM!**

A cataclysmic explosion rocked the cruiser, just as an enormous amount of heat and pressure slammed into their senses all at once. The feeling was so intense that even the non-ki users felt heavy under the sudden influx of power. For there, as the dust clouds parted from where he had cancelled out Lord Beerus' orb of destruction with his own - was Gohan.

A swirling sea of red and amber billowed around him, ignited like a dazzling fire around his frame. It was so hot that it had set alight to the wooden slats beneath his feat, the flames intermingling with his burning Ki that swelled upwards from the depths of his new found power. The remains of purple particles drifted through the air, reflecting in the halfling's livid stare. He was so fast, that no one had even seen him move.

Videl let out a trembling gasp of relief behind him, her sapphire eyes in awe of the sight of him standing there, his blazing aura sending shockwaves rippling over the ocean in unrelenting waves, "G-Gohan?"

Though whether or not the young man heard was beyond her, as Lord Beerus grinned maliciously, quirking a curious eyebrow as he beheld his junior before him.

"Nice to see that you're acting serious for a change," The God of Destruction observed, "A rarity in itself."

"And it's rare for you to get a decent challenge," said Gohan, his sonorous voice low and dangerous, the divine power of a Super Saiyan God surging around him in a raging inferno, "Allow me to fix that."

* * *

 _20th July, 2019._

* * *

 _A/N: And there you have it. Son Gohan has become a God. The battle between Lord Gohan and Lord Beerus is at hand. Who will come out on top I wonder? Will Gohan and Videl redeem their relationship? Will our favourite Junior Destroyer be punished for breaking the divine code and siring a demi-god? How do his family and friends truly feel about all of this? I am soooo excited for you to find out in the next episode of SGTD ;)_

 _I also wanted to plug a little project that me and a couple of friends have started up, Chosen To Die and Nyx. We have started a group on Facebook called Gohan Fanfiction Appreciation Society. Please do check it out! Its very new in its development, I am so amazed how much fanfiction can bring people together, especially a love of all things Gohan. We aim to provide discussions, post Gohan and DBZ related memes and just have a good laugh. So check it out if you're interested! xD_

 _I so hope you enjoyed this chapter, and it was worth the 23 chapters to get here!_

 _ES xx_

* * *

 **Reviews:**

Aaron Leach: thank you!

hawkeyestratos1996: SSG down! Lots more potential for more transformations to come ;)

Pie 555 : thanks for your review! Ha yes poor Makhai no one understands how amazing his technique really is! There will be much more revealed about his mortal life in upcoming chapters too! That I can promise XD

EleazarTheUnforgotten: wow truly amazing words! Thank you so much, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last!

Naite-Laef: thank you! I am a huge Gohan and Videl shipper so that certainly helps :P hope you enjoyed them in this chapter too! lots of Gohan and Videl love - and heartache! SOB!

X3runner : ooo lots of questions! I do aim to go down a slightly different route than super. so no body jacking Gohan. I do however, have something much more heartbreaking in mind!

Hek'UnnSkipper: Thanks! Glad you liked the Majin fight and comparisons! Sad I cant twist your arm round to the Gohan and Videl though.

o- Nyx -o : yaaaay! Thank you darling! Hope you liked this new and improved chapter! Surprise!

x2leoj: hell yeah SSG GOHAN!

Erin: did you manage to read?! :O hope the bbq went well!

FireEmblemMaster101: thanks for your review! haha yes I think its so funny to imagine the saiyan fathers giving the talk to their kids, both for different reasons! so glad you enjoyed the last chapter! yes I loved writing that line for Gohan with him calling Zamasu a hypocrite! haha! Oh and you were so right about Gohan and Videl - notice how I made baby Pan two weeks old instead of three, didnt want it to happen on the first time, way too cliche! im glad I managed to get this chapter out on schedule! I wanted to try and do a chapter a month so yay!

keyblademeister88 : thanks so much! I want Gohan to give up his role to be with Videl too - but sadly, not gonna happen :(

DarkFireCat5241999 : not too sure about the demon thing, I couldnt find any where that Majin magic didnt work on Gods!

RabbitMelody : he really is! dont worry, zamasu will come back soon :P

KeynoRules : thanks so much! I cant wait to see what you come up with next! xD

Heseltine: thank you! Glad you liked the heartfelt scene between Gohan and Videl, for me I really wanted to get Gohans heartbreak across. He loves her so much that he just wants her to be happy! Gohan's death has really affected Goku, he is a lot more serious than before, kind of carrying on from how serious he was in the cell saga, I really liked that Goku, he seemed more mature. so I wanted to keep exploring that here :) glad you liked it!

Iwik: ahhh thank you! you are nearly there with it hahaha glad you enjoyed beerus falling to sleep, i couldnt let them win THAT easily after all :P haha yes, Im tying to get some saiyaman persona across here with Gohans lines. He is still goofy even though hes a badass outwardly - most of the time! yess zamasu probably could have latched onto gohan with his magic, but he really wanted to see him suffer, knowing that the best way to do it is by hurting his friends! Yay gohan and videl! and also glad you liked chichi's outburst haha! I love writing her she is too funny! Oooh now the z-sword breaking? youll have to wait to find out my friend! :P

Jim: thank you!

Robthekiwi121: :O :O

HKGlenstid: thanks for the review! now as for Videl getting death flags, ooo that is a doozy! I dont plan on her dying, but in this story, anything could happen.

jrayeni: thank you! Gohan didnt use the Hakai on Zamasu so he wasnt destroyed, Gohan sliced through his attack and not him. If you are destroyed (hakai) by a destroyer then yes there is no coming back from that. hope that makes more sense!

super mystic gohan: aw thank you for your reviews! glad you are enjoying the story!

Marbbles123 : haha thanks so much! Loving the scooby doo vibes! Really hope the anticipation for this chapter was worth it! xD

Nieri: omg omg omg your review made my day! Thank you so much, I love that you took the time to write such a huge response! I laughed and cried at your response at various points, i am so happy that you are enjoying this story. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter too, i am so humbled by your review thank you so so so much! xD Hell Gang and Sassy Gohan comments were my fave!

MadmanJrs : thanks for your review! we have certainly gotten into the thick of the story now. Glad you liked the battle last chapter and also the gohan and videl vibes ;) hopefully this chapter will give you some more idea for what is in store for them and their relationship.

DragonCrusader : curious to know what you think after your last review! hope it answered some questions! xD

ARandomGuest : truly I am amazed and humbled by your review, thank you so much you wonderful reader! really happy that you love the story so far, and the fact you think its top tier just WOW! you made my whole year! haha the adventures of sparky and the supreme guard?! I would totally read that! yes! I want to do some kind of spin off from this, but my full focus is on finishing this first! I do want to do a bonus chapter of 'the lost buu saga' as it were though, so please look forward to that because it is more likely to happen! :) I may do a few snippets here and there of gohans adventures with his friends. along with revealing more stuff to the z-gang in later chapters. :P ah and goten and gohan, what did you make of that in this chapter i wonder? The angst is real! And Makhai level fawning is ALWAYS appreciated! xD thank you!

Guest: thanks so much! so glad you like the british terms of this story yay! hope you enjoyed this chapter xD


	24. Fledgling

_A/N:Hello lovely readers! Firstly, I wanted to thank you all for being so wonderfully patient in waiting for this chapter. It's been a while since I have been able to sit and work on this story. August was an incredibly busy month for me, had a lot of family issues, parents in and out of hospital, work, baby showers, hen parties and my wedding anniversary. Lots going on but I am super happy that I've been able to get this next instalment of Gohan's journey out to you. Writing takes a lot of time once I am in the flow, and I enjoy it immensely as it is a real breather away from the real world! I hope the longer chapters are suiting people especially with sometimes being over a month (or 2 yikes!) between chapters. I am also starting my Masters degree next week as well as working 30hours a week so I will continue to be busy with life._

 _I tell you all of this because I don't want you to worry that the story has died if you don't see an update in a while! I have EVERY intention on finishing this story. The ending has been planned for months, and the majority of the chapters are planned or in the process of planning. I must say that this is turning out to be a much bigger story than I originally intended, but in all honesty its great because Im having so much fun writing it and have made best friends for life through doing so._

 _I also want to take the time to THANK YOU all so much for all the give you gave me. I cannot believe that this story has over 1500 followers and is currently the 2nd rated Gohan fanfic on this site in terms of following. JUST WOW. You guys are incredible and warm my heart every day! I am really looking forward to the next few chapters. I really hope you enjoy this one and that it was worth the wait!_

 _And now, let the Battle of Gods begin! :)_

 _ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Four**

 **Fledgling**

 **xxxx**

 **South Pacific Ocean, Planet Earth**

The air was hot and heavy, scorching the very atoms around them. It was as though the oxygen itself had caught alight, shuddering with so much heat that a distinct buzzing sound rang around them. The pressure was palpable, like a fine sheath of tough material that wrapped around every part of them, constricting their chests and forcing the breath from the depths of their lungs, making it incredibly difficult to breathe.

Though whether it was due to the sheer magnitude of power emitting from this new form, or from the shock of the deceased halfling becoming an actual _God_ right before their eyes, Piccolo didn't know, for he couldn't exactly sense just _what_ was happening. Granted, he had experienced a similar feeling of utter amazement like this before, for the kid never did cease to surprise him.

Of course, he'd had his moments ever since he had first kidnapped - **_ahem_** \- _borrowed him without permission._ Whether it was from the blinding moments of incredible power, or how the little brat and managed to worm his way into his blackened heart and latch on for dear life, no matter how much he had protested. Indeed, Gohan's actions could be described as unpredictable, unprecedented even, especially for such a young age.

Piccolo frowned, as the pressure amongst them intensified, and the teenager's booming tone lingered in the air. The dangerous challenge in his eyes was all too familiar, the fire flickering deep within the crimson iris' - and not just from the reflection of his flaming aura. It was a look that took him back to a very poignant battle, one where he had stood to the sidelines like this before, the boy's name tumbling from his lips in both awe and fear for he did not yet know what had become of his beloved student, his first friend.

He had been too distracted, locked in a stale mate with one of Cell's sinister offspring, protecting not only himself but a mortally wounded Goku. And then he had felt it before he heard it - and that was saying a lot considering his superior Namekian hearing, the lid bursting off of the kid's power like it had done so many times before. But instead of bubbling and spewing over, it _flooded_. A primal howl of rage and agony escaped the young boy, enough to prompt goosebumps to explode on his skin as he could all but watch Gohan's power erupt. Emerald eyes as hard as steel, golden spikes of hair wild and untameable in the crackling aura that shrouded his small yet muscular body, drying the hot tears that had fallen onto his bruised and bloodied cheeks, the lasting sign of the gentle, innocent child - gone.

The damn had broken, and for Cell, the gates of **_hell_** had opened.

Piccolo remembered that battle all too well, for it had been on a constant replay in his mind over the past eight years. Could he have done more? To help? To stop it all from happening? To save Gohan from his untimely death? The strong Namekian wasn't so sure, though he couldn't help but blame himself and similarly lash out at Goku at any given opportunity for this whole mess. But alas, Goku may have sent his son to his death, but not one of them had intervened to stop it.

But looking at Gohan now, about to face off against a God of Destruction, the sound of his blazing aura battering against his eardrums, looking more like a man than he ever had done before, Piccolo couldn't help but wonder if it was all for the best. No matter how much his heart had ached for that cheeky smile, how much his fingers yearned to ruffle through those thick black locks of hair, or how much he had missed that boisterous laughter - and dare he say those Kami forsaken _hugs_ he used to force upon him.

No, Piccolo thought, mentally shaking himself. It didn't matter just how grown up and powerful Gohan had become, there was no denying the hurt - the longing and _emptiness_ that lingered in those crimson eyes. And how could _that_ be for the better?

His eyes averted to Videl, whose awestruck gaze had never once left the young saiyan who stood boldly before her, shielding her from the blast, the dust settling around them. She couldn't tear her eyes away, even when her father had frantically rushed over to see if she was alright.

It was obvious that the ritual had taken a lot out of her, her cheeks devoid of colour and beads of cold sweat trailing down her brow. She was strong yes, but nowhere near the same level as the saiyans. Having that kind of power flooding through her veins must have been impossible to comprehend, much less control, even if it was emitting from something that had barely begun to develop inside her womb.

In truth, Piccolo was worried, Lord Beerus' words echoing like alarm bells in his mind. If Gohan's offence was punishable by Divine Law, that couldn't mean anything good for either teen, nor the unborn child that they had created.

 _Stupid kid,_ he thought. Once again the boy had thrown all notion of caution to the wind, thinking with his heart and not with his brain. And knowing Gohan the way he did, he would only go and blame himself for this predicament, and most likely already was.

The halfling would take the fall without question, he knew that. Though what that might be wasn't yet clear. He held on to the hope that Lord Beerus would keep his word and ask this 'Divine Council' to soften the blow of his punishment - he was just a kid after all, and kids made mistakes, even ones that were training to become Gods.

The Angel Whis seemed rather fond of Gohan by all accounts, Piccolo had observed, and so might vouch for him. The Gods needed the boy more than he did them at this point it seemed, so he was confident that his punishment wouldn't be _too_ horrific.

Videl and the baby on the other hand…

Either way, however it was going to turn out, the child was a part of Gohan and therefore a part of him. He had even grown tolerable of Videl over the past year, her daring spark of fierceness and kind heart reminding him all too well of his stubborn ex-pupil. And Piccolo wasn't going to just stand aside and let any of them get hurt.

He hoped the kid knew that he had his back at least, he thought, eyes averting to the now red-headed teen once more. He prayed that he knew that he always would, no matter what happened. The rest of his friends and family too, even if they were too lost and confused by all that was happening right now.

Piccolo knew that it was hard for them, for he had been struggling to comprehend it himself. It was difficult for the Z-Gang to make the connection to the man that Gohan was now to the child who was lost eight years ago. And how could it be? How could it be that that same little boy, who had been so full of love and wonder, be capable of committing mass genocide? Guilty of massacring entire civilisations? End entire worlds and wipe souls from the very planes of existence?

Though he had said it before, and he would say it again - Gohan was not a fighter like his father, any of them even. He didn't _thirst_ for battle and mayhem like Goku or Vegeta, even though he had half-saiyan blood. He didn't enjoy the feeling of his fists vibrating on contact, the screams of his enemy in his ears, the strain of his heart as it fought to beat right out of his chest. Not when he was in control of himself, at least.

He didn't have the same aching need to get stronger just because he _could_ , or because he wanted to be the best. Gohan instead had a strong sense of duty above all else, and fought because the world - _universe_ needed him to. He had stepped up where no one else could when he was just a little boy, and had similarly done so again because it was expected of him.

And how could he think otherwise? The expectation had been instilled within him since he was a young boy. To get stronger, smarter, and to protect the ones he loved at all cost. Even if that cost was to himself, and to his own morals.

That wasn't to say that he didn't like fighting altogether. He _was_ part saiyan after all, and both his mother and father, his grandfather and even his _namesake_ Son Gohan the First were all martial artists. He had grown up around fighters, so much so that it had become a natural instinct to him. It was something that had connected the Z-Gang together many years before the boy was born, and Gohan took to training with them like a duck to water. He liked to spar for fun, train and learn new techniques, his avid brain soaking up the knowledge of the world and stories of the warriors that bore him like a sponge.

The difference, however, didn't become noticeable until they were training for the androids arrival. Piccolo had spent nearly every day for the past three years with Gohan and Goku at Mount Paozu, sparring high above the dense forest and the towering snow capped peaks that stretched for miles over the horizon. Though they did not just limit themselves to the East, training in various climates all over the world, amidst scorching deserts and the freezing arctic, trying to push themselves day after day in order to escape the horrific fate that had befallen their future.

 _Twilight had fallen once more, the end of another arduous day closing in. The blue sky had turned into a light, dusky purple and pale stars were sliding into place above them. The whisper of leaves and the movement of the forest animals hushed to all but a quiet whisper. The air was still and shadowy, the sound of the crackling fire pit filling the clearing that they had retreated to._

 _They needed to head back shortly, before Chi-Chi was at her wits end with them again. Still, he would rather they be reprimanded for being a little late for dinner than bring Gohan back in the sorry state he was in - he didn't want his sensitive hearing to be assaulted by her unrelenting shrieking,_ ** _again_** _. He'd endured enough of it for a life time over the last twelve months thank you very much._

 _Though Piccolo had realised that listening to the headstrong woman's ranting would be unavoidable, inevitable even, for they still had two whole years of training to go. The last year had gone by quickly - too quickly in his opinion, the incoming threat of the android attack dangerously looming over their heads. It was concerning, as although they had achieved a lot more power since embarking on their rigorous training schedule, he wasn't sure that even another two years of it was going to be enough. From what Trunks had told them, these evil creations of Dr Gero's were on a whole other level to any other evil that they had faced before._

 _Goku knew this too, he could see it in his eyes. The fire that burned within those obsidian orbs, fuelled even further by the fact that his future self had succumbed to a fatal heart virus before he even had a chance to face off against the mechanical monsters. Luckily, he had been given the life-saving medication that had made the journey back through time, and his ex-rivals determination had continued to push both of their powers to even greater heights. Piccolo had to admit that despite the annoying goofball that the man could be, he made an excellent sparring partner._

 _There was no time for breaks, or for fun, and their youngest companion was feeling the brunt of it. Hunched over with his shoulders shaking, and his small frame encompassed by the blanket he had wrapped around him, Gohan sat on a rotting fallen log next to the camp fire. He was as close as he could possibly get without burning himself, his teeth chattering as he continued to shiver._

 _"Here son," Goku said with a wry smile, getting up from where he had been rummaging through his rucksack and thrusting a thermos flask into the boy's quivering hands, "Drink up. You're lucky your mum thinks of everything and made us some hot chocolate! Though I didn't think you'd get snowed under like that!"_

 _Gohan smiled gratefully, which was rather difficult to do so what with his chattering teeth, nursing the warmth that radiated into his palms before screwing off the lid and taking an enormous gulp._

 _"Woah, slow down!" Goku started with wide eyes, "It's - !"_

 _"Blegh!" He cried suddenly, sticking out his tongue that was now burning a bright red._

 _"… hot," the man finished, stifling a giggle and giving the boy a pointed frown, "serves you right for being greedy."_

 _The halfling pouted, his tongue still sticking outwards in pain and prompting his father to laugh._

 _Piccolo rolled his eyes, though failed to hide the amusement that graced his lips in a small smile. They had been training in the vast Northern mountains all afternoon, amongst the deep snow and unrelenting sleet, the arctic temperatures threatening to freeze the blood solid in their veins. Such a harsh terrain had been suggested by Piccolo, a stark contrast to the warmth of the late May sun that had graced the Eastern province over the last few weeks, the summer months already upon them._

 _He was a firm believer in old fashioned training methods much like Goku was, even if the earth-raised saiyan had utilised the gravity simulator for all it was worth whilst on the way to Planet Namek to help in the aid against the tyrannous Frieza. Of course, everyone had their own methods of getting stronger, and Vegeta had jumped at the chance to hog the gravity chamber that Bulma's father had constructed. It was impossible to ignore how much his Ki fluctuated under the intense gravity, they could sense it all the way over from Capsule Corporation - where he was currently dwelling._

 _Each to their own, Piccolo thought. Though weighted clothing, harsh weather, meditation and savage brawls was the method he stood by, and it had worked for him so far. It was the same method that he had bestowed upon his young student when they had been training for the Saiyan invasion._

 _It was odd for Goku at the start of this venture, for he had never even trained with his son, Chi-Chi being all too strict with the boy in that regard. Though steadily, he had become accustomed to the way that Gohan fought, which was much like his old rival's - ironically._

 _But as the months went on Gohan was starting to learn from his father also, slowly enhancing his own power and developing his form which interestingly enough was made up of a patchwork of familiar styles. Piccolo had noticed that he had picked a few things up from Krillin and even Vegeta whilst on Namek - particularly after one rather nasty gut punch he had dealt his father. Oh yes, that one was all down to Vegeta._

 _Still, it wasn't enough, Piccolo knew that. According to the future son of the saiyan prince, Gohan had been the only one of them left standing against these monsters, but after thirteen years of war, they had slaughtered him too. He_ ** _refused_** _to let that happen. He wouldn't let Gohan die alone on an empty world, devoid of all hope and happiness. He would make sure that he survived, and in order to do so they needed to train him as much as possible, for as long as they were able._

 _Goku went with his suggestion of training in the arctic without question that morning, giving him a curious look until an unspoken understanding had drifted between them. They had trained for hours, both ganging up on the boy in an attempt to bring more of his power to the surface. They needed more to work with, more to train and mould into something that would keep him alive should they fall victim to the androids onslaught._

 _Granted, Gohan got angry and frustrated - and he and Goku knew all too well how rage was a certain booster to his power, allowing him to tap into that dormant vastness that welled deep within him. But just like all the other times, it was fleeting, gone with the moment, and similarly left him wide open soon after - winding up with his face planted in the thick snow._

 _It was disappointing. Though the stubborn child had insisted that they keep going, despite the fact that he was bruised and bloodied, frostbite nipping at his toes and fingertips. His nose was bright red, standing out in contrast against his pale features that were sharpened in determination, practically bellowing at his mentor and father to 'come at him with everything they had.'_

 _He may have regretted his sudden boldness, as all it had attributed to was an avalanche that had buried him under heaps and heaps of snow, prompting a quick rescue that the halfling wasn't all too thrilled about._

 _He was acting far too grown up for his own good, Piccolo had observed, as the kid had whined much like a stroppy teenager about his father fussing over him when they had pulled him from under several feet of snow - clearly embarrassed by the whole affair._

 _Gohan had turned eight years old a little over a week ago, his scruffy black hair growing even longer and right down to his shoulder blades, but he had yet to grow much taller. His mother had insisted on trimming the thick locks that were starting to resemble a mane, but after the whole bowl-cut incident the child had managed to avoid the woman at all costs when she was armed with a pair of scissors._

 _His reaction to being rescued had unsettled Goku slightly, and Piccolo had seen it. Gohan certainly wasn't that little cry baby who had relished in his parents' excessive pampering anymore. Training with the Namekian had hardened him, the conflict with the Saiyans had lit a fire in his belly, but Namek… well, Namek had changed him._

 _Piccolo watched with an observant gaze, arms folded across his chest as the boy shifted uncomfortably on the log opposite, cradling the warm flask to his chest as the roar of amber flames danced between them. Despite his father's giggles, the child's features didn't perk up at all, in fact they became rather solemn._

 _Something was clearly bothering him. Gohan had always had a habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve after all._

 _"What's wrong kiddo?" Goku asked, blinking in the growing dusk and giving him a cheery smile, "I was only teasing, you know."_

 _"I-It's not that," the young boy replied, still shivering a little and wrapping the blanket tighter around him so that his whole body was nearly engulfed by it. The back of his heels knocking against the log in a gentle motion._

 _"Huh?" The man pressed again, "Then what's the matter? It's not like you to not be cheered up by your mum's special cocoa."_

 _Gohan didn't look up as his father sat down next to him, concern marring the saiyan's features as the halfling hung his head, almost in shame, "I'm sorry."_

 _"Sorry?" Goku repeated, bewildered by the child's defeated demeanour, "What on Kami's great Earth for?"_

 _"For holding you back today," said Gohan glumly, his dark eyes watching the steam rise from the flask in his small hands, "Both of you. I-I should be stronger."_

 _His father opened his mouth to reply, when Piccolo cut across him quite abruptly, "Yes you should."_

 _Both Sons looked towards him in surprise, and he could already see the frustrated tears in the young boy's eyes as he continued, "You should be stronger Gohan, but that thought shouldn't hinder you. Instead, it should fuel you to reach new heights. Dragging yourself down won't do you any favours. Telling yourself that you have to get stronger and that you have to win isn't training, kid. It's pointless. You need to face reality and do the real work. Find what motivates you, the drive that'll push you forwards to beyond your restraints, only then will you have a shot at surviving the androids."_

 _The boy flinched at his sudden, gruff tone, though Goku shook his head, "Aw come off it Piccolo, Gohan's been working really hard and - "_

 _"You're too soft on him, Goku," the strong Namekian told him forcibly, "And the more time you spend pandering to him only holds him back."_

 _The full-bloodied saiyan snapped his mouth shut, a frown gracing his features as Gohan started tentatively, "He's right Dad."_

 _"What?" He exclaimed, whirling around to face his only child, "Gohan - "_

 _"Piccolo is right," he repeated, "The only way that I'll get stronger is to accept the reality that our world might end up like that boy from the future said it would. Knowing what might happen has got to be enough to drive me to push my power further, right Mister Piccolo?"_

 _He smirked, "In a way. Though you can't be certain that will happen now, the future may have already changed with your father's heart medication. And uncertainty isn't enough."_

 _Gohan thought for a moment, biting his lip before looking up at his elders, "Well, what makes you two want to get stronger?"_

 _Goku blinked, a little taken aback as Piccolo paused, "Well, er, I suppose for me, it's wanting to see how far I can push myself. Each opponent I face drives me even further towards a goal that I haven't quite realised yet. I know it sounds a bit odd, but it's like it's engrained in me. Maybe it's from my saiyan blood I don't know, but when I became a super saiyan back on Planet Namek a lot of things started to make sense. I want to keep on fighting for as long as I can, getting stronger and stronger to see just how far I can go. And if I can keep the Earth, you and your mum safe whilst doing so then that's good enough for me!"_

 _He finished with a smile, and Gohan took a second to allow his reasoning to sink in, turning to the Namekian over the fire pit._

 _"It's simple," he said gruffly, before he could ask, "And it goes beyond just defending the planet. I want to surpass my own limitations. If the world dies then there is no point is there? I also want to finally be able to defeat your father in battle."_

 _Goku laughed, "Ha, that's a good one Piccolo."_

 _He scowled, as Gohan giggled before composing himself, sitting up a little straighter, "Well they sound like good motivators. But I don't think I want to get stronger just for myself, I want to get stronger to help people."_

 _"Oh really?" Goku pressed knowingly, smiling, "How so?"_

 _"I want to make sure that I can defend myself so that I don't slow you all down, and that you won't have to save me any more. I want to be able to defend those who can't protect themselves," the young saiyan stated boldly, "A-And I'll make sure that our future changes! I won't let any androids hurt us or anyone else!"_

 _Piccolo shared a look with Goku, the fireflies drifting between them as the amber glow of the furnace reflected in the young halfling's deep onyx eyes._

 _"Now you're getting it," said Piccolo, giving him a small nod of approval, "Make sure you apply it to training tomorrow. I don't want to be dragging your sorry behind out of another mountain again."_

 _Instead of pouting like earlier, Gohan grinned, setting down his cocoa and leaping on top of the log, the blanket still wrapped around his shoulders so that it much resembled a cape that billowed in the slight summer breeze._

 _"No way! I'm not going to lose tomorrow Piccolo! You'll see!" He exclaimed, hands in a strong stance upon his hips, exposing his tattered purple gi, "I'll show you! I'll get stronger! And I'll… I-I'll go super saiyan! … You know, eventually…"_

 _Goku and Piccolo chuckled, as the boy said the last of his sentence rather sheepishly, heat rising to his cheeks as he realised that he had openly professed his goal to the entire forest._

 _"One step at a time mister superhero," Goku chortled teasingly, tugging at the makeshift cape and causing Gohan to laugh, "You'll come into your own power soon enough, and leave your old man in the dust, believe me."_

 _"You're not_ ** _old_** _Daddy," the boy said brightly, sitting himself down and snuggling up to his father, burying his messy head in his chest._

 _"I don't know, it feels like it some days," he sighed, looking down at him with a smile that was almost saddened, strong fingers ruffling the long black locks that refused to be tamed._

 _Piccolo stayed silent. He felt the man's yearning. Gohan had certainly grown up a lot since Namek._

 _The halfling quirked an eyebrow, confused by the sudden gesture, "You're so weird sometimes."_

 _"Oi!" Goku spluttered, though failed to hide his amusement, fingers running away from his hair and instead tickling him in between the ribs, causing tears to spring back into Gohan's eyes as he fought to contain his squeals, "Since when did you get so cheeky?!"_

 _The boy gasped for air, shrieks of laughter echoing over the darkening forest, "D-Dad! S-Stop! Ahhhh!"_

 _"Don't dish it out if you can't take it back, Gohan!" He barked back, their boisterous glee grating on Piccolo's nerves and causing him to roll his eyes._

 _After a couple of minutes of raucous fumbling, in which the youngster was far outmatched, Goku caught him in a bearhug, his hair even more dishevelled than before. Grinning madly, he pulled Gohan to him, the young saiyan's breathing steadily returning to normal, his head now resting in his father's lap._

 _"I-I'll -_ ** _pant_** _\- get y-you -_ ** _pant_** _\- next -_ ** _pant_** _\- t-time," Gohan griped, finally giving in and allowing the man to throw the discarded blanket back over him._

 _"Yeah, yeah," said Goku playfully, watching with mirth as the boy failed to stifle the enormous yawn that escaped his lips, "We'll see kiddo."_

 _Gohan yawned again, his eyes heavy as his body had now fully accustomed to the warmth, the blissful heat from the fire and the rigorous day of training finally weighing on him. His eyelids fluttered, snuggling further into his father's torn gi trousers, burying his nose in the orange fabric and breathing in the scent that had always seemed to comfort him._

 _"Tomorrow, I-I'll be better," he mustered sleepily, unable to fight the sandman any longer, falling into his dreams._

 _The earth-raised saiyan laughed quietly, brushing a stray bang from his son's face as his Ki lulled and calmed in his slumber, "I've got no doubt about that, my little super saiyan."_

 _The two warriors sat in a comfortable silence for a while, the crackle of wood reaching their ears as the fire slowly reduced the logs and twigs to ash. Their shadows cast over the trees now, the purplish sky growing darker with every passing second, the stars twinkling above them. The sky was beautifully clear, as though the vastness of space was hanging right over them._

 _"Do you really think I'm too soft on him?"_

 _Goku's words caught him off guard as he looked towards him, the saiyan's large hand resting on the child's hair, his light snores drifting into the air._

 _"During training," He scoffed, swiftly moving the conversation along, he wouldn't dare to admit to his ex-rival that he had spent many a night in the same position as him, allowing the kid to cuddle up to him like that, "He gave you a lot of openings today that you didn't take because you saw your son instead of an opponent. You're not helping him Goku, he's not going to learn like that."_

 _He chuckled darkly, that infectious smile of his spreading across his lips all the same, "Yeah, you're probably right. But he's still just a kid."_

 _"A kid with a hell of a lot of potential, you know that," said Piccolo, "You said it yourself just now."_

 _The saiyan sighed, "He's just growing up so fast, you know?"_

 _He swallowed, "I do."_

 _"What he said earlier," he continued, shaking the hair out of his eyes, "When he said about wanting to protect everyone, those who couldn't defend themselves. He sounded so… mature, smart even."_

 _Piccolo snorted, "Of course he did. He certainly didn't inherit your brains, Goku."_

 _"Hey!" He protested, a deep scowl upon his features as the green-skinned warrior smirked back._

 _Though he faltered, as Goku sighed heavily once more, his gaze drifting to the young boy who rested his head on his thigh, his features looking so innocent in the dim light of the campfire, "I just hope we can change this, this future for_ ** _him_** _. What Trunks told me, about Gohan in the future, it sounded so horrific. I don't want my Gohan to go through that."_

 _He cleared his throat, attempting to ignore the sudden dryness on his tongue, "We'll make sure he doesn't have to go through that Goku. We'll arm him with all the tools he'll need. All he needs to do is believe in himself."_

 _"Yeah, you're right, as always," The fellow Z-Fighter smiled back at him, obsidian eyes full of emotion, "I believe in him, I really do Piccolo. He'll be stronger than all of us one day."_

 _He couldn't help but allow the sides of his lips to twitch slightly upwards at his words, pride for his student swelling within him. The kid was always full of surprises, after all._

 _"I know Goku," he said, "I know."_

And he continued to believe it, even though it had nearly killed him to watch Gohan throw down the cape he had gifted to him all those years ago, the white weighted shoulder pads hitting the hard earth of the cliff top and sending chalky dust clouds into the air. The harsh _thump_ of the impact filling in the gap where his heart had skipped a nervous beat. His back, stronger and more muscular since he had exited the Time Chamber, turned towards them as he beheld his ultimate challenge.

Emerald eyes fierce, holding the same determination he had seen two years prior, when he had jumped atop the rotting log beside the campfire. And with them, he stared death straight in the face in the form of a gloating Cell, head on and no holds barred. Unleashing his power into the high winds that stretched all across the devastated landscape. The power that indeed proved to surpass them all.

He believed it. Even when he had screamed at Goku for throwing the eleven year old to the wolves, the boy's agonising screams penetrating his heart in a cascade of sonic booms that threatened to break it apart. He had convinced himself that Gohan was too scared, too scared to unleash his full potential because he had not found the trigger that he had suggested he find back in the forest clearing.

But he was wrong, in a way. Because he _had_ found it. He just had to believe.

It was why the young halfling was so different to himself, to his father or any of the others, who fought for the skill and glory of fighting, relished in the mayhem of getting stronger and facing battle after battle, sometimes just for the thrill of it. No, because Gohan, at his core, was a protector. A protector was the very essence of what he stood for, and the root of all that he was. Those who would help others and fight for what is right will receive his aid, and those who would spread meaningless hurt will receive his ire. And that sense of duty and fury is what fuelled him, drove him forwards and pushed him to heights that none of them had ever thought possible, even for Gohan.

And so, despite what the others thought, and even what the halfling thought of himself, Piccolo knew that the boy had not changed. Of course there were differences, and how could there not be? He had grown considerably, both in body and in spirit. Though the roots of what made Gohan the person he was, was still there, no matter how coarse and knotted, and even though the flowers that bloomed on the surface looked a little different to what they had been expecting to find.

Piccolo didn't necessarily _like_ the thought of his former student running around the universe and ending countless lives with a flick of his wrist, but he understood the need. And similarly the purpose of maintaining a balance in the universe, that by Destroying those who would threaten it, he was saving billions upon billions of others.

It was a difficult concept to grasp, and he could almost sense the conflict that barrelled within the Z-Gang's minds, particularly Goku's.

Looking over to the warrior in question, Piccolo found that much like everyone else, he was watching the young Destroyer with unwavering eyes. Standing next to Goten and Chichi, his jaw was tightly set, beads of sweat intermingling with the salt water that dripped onto the wooden deck from his drenched and tattered clothes. His features looked still and focussed, though he was quite obviously drained from the ritual, and the battle that waged within his obsidian orbs was too unmistakable to miss. Struggling with himself.

Even though their relationship had become strained since Gohan had died, Piccolo still knew how to read Goku like a book. The battle between his warring morals was far from over, though through the pain and heartbreak that he felt from hearing that his son had become a God of Destruction in training, he couldn't help but notice the pride and admiration that he held for the boy as he stood boldly in between them and the dangerous deity.

There was only but a spark of disappointment. Disappointment in the teen for keeping such a monumental piece of information from him, and a worrying thought that made the earth-raised saiyan wonder just _why_ he hadn't been able to tell _him_ of all people. There was anticipation for the oncoming fight, but also fear. Fear for the halfling who had taken the entire universe upon his shoulders, fear for the boy who had been forced to become a man far too early.

The tense, quaking tremor of realisation that his nineteen year old son was going to become a father, a father that would most likely never get to meet his child due to his impending departure. And when he was gone, what was left for them? Their friends, their _family_? Were they going to return to the broken fragmented mess just like before? Go on pretending that everything was okay? Was the part of Gohan left behind inside of Videl going to help mould them back together? Heal the hurt that lingered in their hearts? Or would the unborn child be taken from them too? A child that should never had been.

At that moment, sensing the mounting trepidation from Goku as he poked around in his mind, Piccolo felt that same shudder of unease shoot up his spine too. Even if it was for just a fleeting moment.

"Shall we?" Lord Beerus smirked, inclining his head above them before lifting off from wooden deck and into the cloudless sky.

Gohan merely nodded in response, his crimson eyes glinting with purpose. It happened very fast, but the ever perceptive Namekian caught it, the slight glance that the young saiyan aimed towards Videl. His gaze lingering for but a moment, performing a quick sweep of her body to make sure that she remained unharmed before he dug his heels into the ground and launched himself into the air after the Destroyer.

Everyone waited with bated breath. Would they catch a glimpse of the beast that Cell had ripped right out of him in that fateful battle? Just like the one they had seen replayed in Whis' sceptre? For it was clear to them now more than ever after watching it, that what the deities had spoken of was sound in its truth.

The wild untapped power that had simmered deep within the boy certainly had the makings of a God of Destruction, because thats what it did - the beast - it _destroyed_. But they had to remember that he was still _their_ Gohan, the one that loved fiercely and ferociously protected. The one that strived to do the right thing at all costs. And Piccolo had no qualms in helping the others remember that fact.

"This is… strange," he heard Krillin muster, blinking the sun out of his eyes as he followed the two Destroyer's movements, "Apart from the hair and eyes, and that weird glow, it's like Gohan hasn't changed at all!"

"I was expecting him to bulk up like a super saiyan," Tien said in agreement, "But he looks leaner somehow."

"Yeah, I can't even sense his presence at all!" Exclaimed Yamcha, still in disbelief.

Master Roshi hummed lowly, his sunglasses reflecting the image of the newly born Super Saiyan God as he accelerated into the air above them, "It's the pressure we're feeling. It's so heavy that it's making it difficult to breathe. I'm certain that's Gohan's strength. This form must be more powerful than we could even imagine, if we could actually sense it."

Vegeta let out a short noise of irritation, as Goku turned to the wise old man in confusion. Though before he could open his mouth, did Dende cut across him.

"Master Roshi is right," he puffed, he seemed to be struggling with the thick, hot air a lot more than the rest of them, "It's divine energy, mortals can't sense it at all. I'm of a much lower rank than Lord Beerus and Gohan, so it's still quite difficult for me. All I can feel is something… almighty."

"And that is exactly how it should be," Whis quipped suddenly, as they struggled to take in the information, "It is how divine energy works. Ordinary mortals such as yourselves cannot sense divine power, much less comprehend it."

"Wait," Goku blinked, shaking his head in amazement, "So that means that Gohan is - "

"A God in the literal sense," the Angel finished for him, a small smile playing on his lips, "I'm sure that you had sensed a change in his Ki before when he first came back to Earth and revealed himself, though you may not have known what it was exactly because of your mortality. He has obtained only an incredibly small fraction of divinity in his training with me and thus joined the ranks of the celestial in the process. This however, is on a whole new level entirely. He may not be quite on the same tier as Lord Beerus and the Kais just yet, but who knows what will happen at this point."

"Though it is just as well," Whis continued, his aqua eyes surveying them before settling on Videl, "He is still a junior deity and not yet come into his full potential. Let us hope that the Divine Council see it this way and his punishment won't be too arduous."

The Satan girl looked down, tearing her gaze away abruptly, her cheeks red with both anger and shame.

The tension between them seemed to grow even more so, as Piccolo felt a sudden shift beside him and Vegeta came and stood next to him, dark eyes locking with his for a fleeting moment before casting them up towards the sky. The Namekian warrior gave him a firm nod of understanding, forcing his own apprehension back down his throat.

"D-Do you think he's got enough power Goku? Can he beat him?" Chi-Chi asked her husband worriedly, clutching Goten's hand tight. The young boy was still scowling up at his older brother, a dark look about him.

"We'll see," Goku replied quietly, never once looking down, his eyes fixed towards his eldest son.

Piccolo couldn't help but silently agree with his old rival. It was time. And now, they would truly see what Gohan The Destroyer was truly capable of. The fate of Lord Beerus' anger, as well as his own retribution resting with him.

* * *

He felt light and airy, the wind brushing delicately over his glowing skin as he glided through the now clear blue sky. He felt strangely calm, his muscles relaxed though eyes focused, his billowing flame-like aura dissipating as he came to a halt just as Lord Beerus did.

He could sense them all watching him from the cruiser several feet below, though refrained from looking back. Crimson iris' glinting in the still dazzling sunlight as he beheld his predecessor before him. The God of Destruction appeared rather pleased by the transformation, a wry smirk playing on his lips. Though Gohan couldn't help but wonder if it would be enough, he had never faced off against Lord Beerus like this before, the mystery of what this new power could do sent waves of trepidation rushing through his veins.

"Now for the real test," the cat-like God stated, beetle black eyes raking over his form, "Let us see if your little makeover has actually made you worth fighting."

The young saiyan floated across from him wordlessly, eyes hard as the Destroyer spoke again, a dark chuckle escaping him.

"I'm ready when you are, _great Super Saiyan God_."

"As long as you keep your word," Gohan said boldly, causing Lord Beerus' smirk to spread even wider, his hands crossed behind his back.

"Very well," he replied, "I'll do my best, though I can't make any promises. I can't speak for the Divine Council or what might be in store for you."

"I don't care about what happens to me," the halfling spoke lowly, as the deity scoffed, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"You'd do well to," he told him, "Carelessness is what has gotten you into this predicament, _boy_."

They stared each other down, the only sound that of the sloshing waves and the steadily creaking ship. The air sizzled and popped between them, the call of a seagull echoing in the distance, as Gohan faintly heard Krillin gulp - " _You know, I've got a bad feeling about this_."

Though there was no time to ponder the outcome of the fight any further, as the young Destroyer balled up his fists, bringing what he could muster of his new power to the surface. A loud barbarous roar escaped his chest, thundering over the ocean as swirl of amber, crimson and gold whipped around his frame, blowing back the long reddish hair away from his face.

Lord Beerus stood stoic, his stance unwavering as he remained unaffected by the torrent of wind that raged around them. And didn't even blink when the teenager shot towards him - faster than lightening - drawing back a blazing fist that was engulfed in a fiery aura, before it collided with his own outstretched palm, sending a rip-roaring shockwave booming across the sky.

"HOLY - !" Yamcha cried, as an aftershock barrelled towards the sea, rocking the ship as the waves upheaved around them, parts of the wooden deck splintering apart beneath their feet and sending bits of broken bark flying up into the air.

The mere connection of the Destroyers fists sent tremors through their bones, as the Z-Gang skidded with a loud yelp, grasping onto the railings of the cruiser for dear life as it continued to sway in motion - save Whis, who appeared completely unfazed by the commotion.

Though just as they managed to recover, did another bone-quaking shockwave send them crashing to their knees once more. Gohan had phased out, managing to rip his fist away from his superior and reappear behind him, making to drive a sharp kick straight into Lord Beerus' spine. Though the deity was too fast, and parried the teenager's shin before following up with a devastating punch to the gut.

Gohan doubled over in pain, though swiftly regained his composure, gritting his teeth in frustration and blocking the God's oncoming knife-hand before landing his own strike to his stomach. Lord Beerus chuckled darkly, as the teenager attempted to follow up in his attack, wrenching his fist away from the deity's torso and bringing his hands together above his head.

But to the young saiyan's disdain, his blow never connected. Instead, his opponent knocked his fists out of the air with a flying kick straight to the face, sending the teen hurtling across the sky.

He careened to a halt, his aura bursting around him as he propelled himself back towards his predecessor and engaged him in a rapid succession of kicks and punches that were so fast that the majority of their audience nearly missed it. Fists, elbows, shins and knees clashed together and sent the hot air around them shuddering with shockwave after shockwave. Each blow that connected growing more vicious and desperate as the fight continued.

Divine energy appeared to filter out of them as they fought, lightening bolts of silver and gold jolting around their frames as they collided in midair. Gohan's eyes were narrowed in determination, though his frustration was growing evident for it was painstakingly clear that so far the battle of Gods was all too one sided, his superior backhanding him back through the clouds with undeniable ease once more.

He skidded to a stop, panting slightly and wiping a trail of crimson blood from his cheek, dark red eyes glaring back at the God of Destruction. Even with the sudden boost from this new power, Lord Beerus' attacks certainly still smarted. Though that didn't stop the smirk that crept across his lips.

Lord Beerus quirked an eyebrow, drifting before him and folding his arms across his chest. He appeared intrigued.

The short break in their onslaught gave the halfling little respite, as at once he charged back towards the awaiting deity, firing a hot blast of Ki from his open palm that prompted Lord Beerus to scoff at the feint attack and bat it away. Gohan phased out suddenly, reappearing once again behind the God and drawing back his arm before it was swiftly grabbed out of the air by his opponent.

The teenager yelped as he was thrust forwards by his elbow, the wind whistling in his ears as his predecessor tossed him right over his shoulder. Spinning around as quickly as he could, Gohan had no choice but to cross his arms up in front of his face as Lord Beerus was on the assault.

His fist smashed easily through the halfling's guard in a crippling hit, clocking him straight in the chin and causing his head to snap backwards from the force of impact. Gohan snarled, shaking the hair out of his eyes as he recovered, leaping out of the way of another one of Lord Beerus' oncoming blows, though to his surprise, he found that he was managing to block and dodge a lot better against the divine being than before.

The air around them surged with power, as Gohan phased out of the way of his opponent's strikes that were becoming faster and more deadly as the fray continued, giving the teen only a split millisecond to move out of harms way.

He was starting to understand it, this power that was flooding every part of him. It wasn't all too dissimilar to the super saiyan transformations in the fact that his body was slowly becoming accustomed to this higher state of altered hearing, feeling, seeing, _moving_. The stark difference being that the power buzzing within him wasn't entirely his own, and that was certainly taking some getting used to.

It was like stepping into a new suit that wasn't quite tailored, like a young boy sneaking into his parents wardrobe and trying on his father's training gi, giggling lightly when the large orange shirt fell over his shoulders, the hem reaching his small feet. It was like struggling not to buckle under the pressure of intense gravity, coupled with an overwhelming feeling to prove ones worth, a desperate need to gain control. It was _alien_ almost, as the halfling ducked underneath the deity's swinging fist that came soaring towards his head, as despite the power that seemed to be waging its own war underneath the surface of his hot skin, did a blanket of serenity engulf him, keeping the parts of the puzzle all together and allowing him to maintain his focus. His own energy accepting of it, slowly learning and adjusting as he fought.

Lord Beerus was relentless, as always. Fists clashed and collided once more, sending a cascade of sonic booms rippling over the atmosphere, blowing the clouds back from the force. Shockwaves hit the seabed hundreds of feet below the water, sending the ocean spray high into the air and drenching the flabbergasted onlookers on the cruise-liner - that struggled to stay afloat in the wake of their skirmish.

He attempted to dodge a deadly blow to the temple, but even though he was quicker, it still wasn't enough, as the Destroyer shortly followed up with a devastating flick to the forehead which caused the younger deity to spiral out of control and back towards the awaiting waters. Gohan cried out in agony, his temple throbbing in pain as he distinctly heard an abrupt shout of alarm escape his family and friends back on the ship.

To their relief, the halfling managed to catch himself before he hit the thrashing waves, his hot skin cooling down considerably as droplets of salty water scattered over his frame. With no time to recuperate, Lord Beerus was upon him again, backing him up against the water with no means of escape.

Though this time, Gohan was ready. A deep snarl rumbled within his chest as he blocked another oncoming kick from the Destroyer with the edge of his forearm, the force of which sent another tidal wave erupting from the ocean surface. The howl of winds that followed intermingled with the Destroyer's subsequent cry of shock, as the teenager drew back his fist and delivered a powerful uppercut to his jaw.

To everyone's awe, including Gohan's, Lord Beerus was fired back through the air, bursting through the clouds so that they dispersed even further over the atmosphere. But the young saiyan's small victory was short lived, as the God shortly came to a stop, his dark eyes surveying the teen who flew up towards him once more. He may have been unharmed, but the counter attack had certainly taken him aback.

Floating across from the Destroyer, Gohan watched his lips twitch upwards, "Not bad. Not bad at all."

The young saiyan raised an eyebrow towards him, was he actually _impressed_?

"Don't get cocky boy, it'll take a lot more than that for me to break a sweat," Lord Beerus scoffed at the small spark of triumph that appeared in his crimson eyes, "Though I must ask you this, how does it feel becoming a God?"

"Honestly?" He mustered, looking down at his glowing hands once more, his sonorous voice echoing over the sky, "It's incredible. But it'll take some getting used to."

"Indeed," the Destroyer observed calmly, "It is only natural that you're in awe, and you are quite right in saying that it'll take time to fathom what you can truly achieve with this form. I'm sure that you've already noticed that you have only just begun to scratch the surface of this power."

The tension grew suddenly, and then all at once. Thick and palpable in the air, straining against the two Destroyers like an invisible force holding them back and just begging to let them loose.

"I think that qualifies as enough for a quick warm up," said Lord Beerus, his smirk unwavering before his divine Ki skyrocketed and he shot towards the halfling like a speeding bullet.

Gohan quickly sprang into action, parring the God's oncoming fist and attempting to land a vicious elbow strike straight to his predecessors skull. His hit was blocked by Lord Beerus' claws that slashed into the flesh of his arm, drawing fresh red blood that trickled from the deep jagged cuts.

The teenager snarled, booting the Destroyer away from him before they violently clashed again in midair. The sound of knuckles on bone ricocheted around them as the pair simultaneously punched each other across the jaw, following up with a succession of savage blows to the chest and stomach, one after another, quaking and upturning the vast well of water below them.

Gohan attempted to ignore that his bones where quivering from the force of Lord Beerus' ferocious hits, ripping his arm away from a deadly vice-grip he had gotten caught in and kneeing the God hard in the sternum. It appeared that the cat-like deity was getting impatient as he surged forwards once more, their heated fists colliding, fingers now intwined as they grappled one another in mid-air.

Hanging high above the _Princess Bulma,_ the pair were locked in a stalemate. The young Destroyer was struggling under his opponent's iron grasp, his sharp claws painfully digging into the flesh in the backs of his hands. Gohan growled, low in his throat, his fiery aura bursting around him as he pushed his Ki even higher.

Lord Beerus' eyes held a mild amount of surprise, but it was gone with the moment. The atoms hissed and crackled around them, as the God of Destruction's own purple energy ignited around him, licking harshly at the air like an unguarded flame. His sharp teeth were bared, and Gohan couldn't help but conclude with a hopeful satisfaction that the Destroyer was actually putting _effort_ into the fight at hand.

With that spurring thought, the young saiyan smirked, bringing up his leg in one swift motion and kicking Lord Beerus straight in the chin, breaking their struggle in an instant and causing him to let go. Gohan winced slightly, his wounded knuckles stinging, before he fired himself back towards his predecessor, who was already waiting for the fight to resume.

"Yeah! Get him Gohan! You're _so_ _cool_!" Trunks cheered, causing the awestricken gang to look towards him, tearing their eyes away from the battle unfolding high above their heads. Though the boy's words of encouragement fell on deaf ears, as the two deities disappeared from view once, the resounding tremors the only indication that the battle was still going strong.

"Trunks?" Bulma spoke tentatively, her knuckles white from where she was still grasping tightly onto the rungs of the ship for want of not toppling over again, "What can you see?"

The blue-haired heiress, like the rest of the non-fighters of the group, would have been totally clueless as to the status of the fight were it not for the warriors of Earth filling them in. Though it was safe to say at this point that even the more experienced fighters were verging on struggling to follow the battle, the conflict steadily beginning to reach heights of speed that they had never seen before.

"H-He's actually doing it," Vegeta mustered, although his voice was quiet, as though he was trying to convince himself that what he was witnessing wasn't the product of some crazy dream, "He's really going up against Lord Beerus… and holding his own."

"Well, so far," A voice chuckled, drawing the groups attention. The Angel had not spoken a word since the fight had begun, his celestial gaze following the divine duo without any signs of difficultly.

"Allow me," Whis chuckled, eyeing their craning necks as another sonic boom crippled the air around them, "That looks like a neck cramp just waiting to happen."

At once, the deity tapped his staff, allowing for a hologram of the fight to materialise before their eyes. A soft green glow encompassed the frame, illuminating the wooden decking beneath their feet.

"Oh yes, this is quite an interesting development," Whis hummed again, just as the deceased teen struck the God of Destruction in the sternum, before he was forced to block another attack just as quickly, "Gohan is utilising this new form rather well by all accounts. He's barely been able to land a hit on Lord Beerus before now, this Super Saiyan God transformation certainly is promising."

Goku's eyes widened, "Wait, he's fought Lord Beerus before?"

"But of course, how else do you think he got so strong?" The Angel chuckled, smiling brightly at the earth-raised saiyan, "It is like I said before, Gohan's power and potential has been there long before he came to us, and has continued to grow. And Lord Beerus is exceptionally good at pushing him."

The others stared, a sense of realisation encompassing them as Whis sighed suddenly in despair, watching as Lord Beerus phased out and reappeared with Gohan, the teenager's ponytail in hand, kneeing him cruelly in the gut.

"Although," he sighed disapprovingly as the halfling retaliated by ruthlessly biting the end of the Destroyer's tail, "I do wish that they retained at least _some_ dignity and didn't fight so dirty."

High above them, Gohan pulled back as he was abruptly set free, his scalp stinging as tears formed in his eyes.

"Did you _have_ to pull my hair?!" He snarled, rubbing the sore spot on his head.

"You _bit_ me, you little brat!" Lord Beerus shrieked, nursing his tail that had noticeable bite marks in the flesh.

"You pulled my hair!" He argued, glaring back at his predecessor.

"You BIT my TAIL!"

" _Because_ you pulled my HAIR!"

"THAT'S IT!" He bellowed, before giving the teen an evil grin, "It's bath time for you, boy!"

Gohan blinked, "Wait, wha - ?"

 **BOOM!**

It happened so fast, that he only realised that he was essentially drowning when his lungs were beginning to fill with salty sea water. A fountain of waves spewed high into the air as he was plunged into the ocean by a fearsome blow, the sea bed rocked as his back painfully hit the ocean floor, cracking it apart on impact.

Lord Beerus cackled, as the young saiyan quickly came to his senses, bringing his Ki forth and firing himself upwards. Coughing and spluttering as he broke back through the icy surface, he shot daggers at the gloating God, sopping wet as salt water dripped unforgivingly from his sodden swimming shorts.

"Bath time, _really_?" He griped haughtily, shaking his wet hair out of his eyes as Lord Beerus continued to smirk.

"Fight like a child, and I'll treat you like one," he shot back, "Now come at me, brat. Don't make me put you in a time out."

Now Gohan was angry, sparking his aura back around himself and flinging headlong towards the awaiting deity with a thunderous roar.

 **CLASH! THWACK! BOOM!**

The succession of blows that followed were fuelled by the sudden surge of fury that erupted within the teen. Lord Beerus bared his teeth as he caught his rampaging fists out of the air once more, though Gohan couldn't tell whether he was angry or actually smiling at the display, though he didn't get chance to contemplate it any further, as he had no choice but to block the Destroyer's boot that came swinging _far_ too close to his head, threatening to tear it right off of his shoulders.

He yelped, as he was pushed back suddenly by a gust of Ki that escaped his predecessors palm, barrelling into his chest and nearly knocking the wind right out of him.

Again, Lord Beerus paused in his assault, and grinned wickedly.

"You're different to the Junior Destroyer I've fought before, I'll give you that," he told him, confusing the halfling somewhat, "You're getting better at seeing my punches coming."

"Now," Lord Beerus continued, "Let's give your blocking a more… _stringent_ test. Tell me young Lord, can you block this attack?"

Gohan's eyes widened, as he suddenly phased out, moving so incredibly fast that if he wasn't on high alert then he would have bet his existence that the striking blow that followed would have ripped right through his torso and straight out through the other side.

A resounding gasp sounded from the ship below, as the teenager shuddered underneath the force of Lord Beerus' attack, both of his palms gripping tightly onto the clawed fist that was inches away from his abdomen. His muscles groaned in protest, his arms quaking as he tried to force the God back, his teeth bared in a frustrated snarl.

"Good! _Good!_ " Lord Beerus chortled in a delight that was borderline sadistic, pushing even more of his mighty power into his fist, "Now you're getting it! That was quite impressive, I must - !"

 **BOOM!**

Now it was the Destroyer's turn to be taken aback, as Gohan managed to wrench himself free of the impasse, bringing up his leg and cracking Lord Beerus across the skull.

"Woah! What a hit!" Yamcha cried in both pride and disbelief as the hologram depicted Lord Beerus spiralling though the air from the sheer force of the teenager's assault.

Whis smiled at the flabbergasted look on the groups faces, "Yes, it appears that the longer this battle goes on, the more used to this new power Gohan becomes. Things are getting interesting."

The Angel looked towards the image protruding out of his sceptre, as Lord Beerus let out a bark of dark laughter, materialising in front of the halfling and prompting the youngster to block another lethal strike to his side, "Ah yes, Lord Beerus is finding this test quite suitable."

"A test?" Piccolo asked, a deep frown upon his features, "You're saying that he's _training_ him as he goes?"

"Quite right Piccolo," said Whis, "Though this situation is rather new for the both of them. They have never fought like this before. Alas, they do have to be mindful that they don't take it _too_ far."

There was no denying the ominous feeling that drifted between them, nor the slight furrow to the blue-skinned deity's brow.

"What do you mean?" Goku quirked boldly, causing the Angel to give him a cheery smile - almost too cheery.

"Oh it's nothing!" He implored happily, "I'm about seventy-three percent certain that all will be well!"

"Seventy-three percent?!" Yamcha cried, " _That's_ a bit specific isn't it?! What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Ah, it may be a slight miscalculation," said Whis, "I'm sure all will be fine as long as young Gohan remains quite careful."

The Z-Gang shared a look behind his back, until Krillin mustered, "Yeah, um, I don't know if you've noticed by now, but the words 'quite careful' aren't exactly in Gohan's vocabulary."

An unrestrained bellow cut off the Angel's reply, as a dazzling ball of crackling energy began to swell from Lord Beerus' fingertip. Gohan could feel the crippling amount of power within it, his pupils retreating in the harsh light.

"You've stopped my fists," Lord Beerus glowered, the golden sphere dancing on the end of his finger, swirling and pulsating with heat, blowing a torrent of winds around them, the promise of a challenge lingering on his tongue, "Now, how will you stop this?"

He fired.

He fired before Gohan could even so much as blink, the Ki ball towering high above him and casting an enormous shadow upon the ocean surface below. It was so big that it encompassed the horizon like a rising sun, setting alight to the sky as it barrelled towards him.

He growled with a fierce determination as the blast slammed into him, his biceps shaking as he thrust his hands forwards in order to catch the rapidly approaching sphere. It was clear that Lord Beerus wasn't joking about Destroying the Earth, for the halfling new that if a blast of that much power touched the planet's core then there was no hope for its survival.

He snarled, gritting his teeth as a bead of sweat trickled down his brow. The heat from the deadly sphere was impregnable, and he could barely hear the screams and shouts of the Z-Gang over the roaring cyclone that encircled him. A plethora of lightening bolts slithered and thrashed wildly across the steadily darkening sky, as Gohan pushed even more of his Godly energy to the surface.

He was mildly surprised that he could bring out even _more_ of this new power, climbing higher and higher, his flame-like aura building with a heat and intensity that resembled the swirling blast of devastation in his grasp. His skin prickled and burned, sending rapid signals of alarm rushing to his brain, but the young saiyan ignored it, unleashing an almighty howl as his veins surged with raw power.

A brilliant blue hue erupted from his palms, clattering into the core of the sphere which caused it to swell and pulsate, when suddenly it overloaded. Gohan let it go completely, sending the swirling ball of gold and blue high into the atmosphere and out towards space, far away from the Earth.

There was a blinding flash of light that illuminated the entire planet but a moment later, followed by a cataclysmic **KA-BOOM!** The Earth shuddered from the force, though thankfully was out of any immediate danger, coming to rest just as a cascade of falling debris soared overhead.

The young Destroyer cringed at the sight, a sinking feeling of realisation hitting the pit of his stomach, "Oops."

"Ah, and there goes Mars," Lord Beerus observed, as another flurry of broken rocks flew overhead, missing the Earth by inches, burning up just beyond the ozone, "Impressive. Though you've got an even longer way to go than I first thought if you go around blowing up planets that you didn't intend to."

"I didn't _mean_ to throw it that far!" Gohan protested hotly, his cheeks burning in embarrassment, "I'm just… still getting used to this power… is all."

"Clearly," The deity sniffed, "It's no matter, we can always get The Supreme Kai to create another before we leave. That is, if you manage to beat me and keep your precious solar system intact."

The teenager's eyes narrowed dangerously at his mockery, "I will _not_ let you Destroy anything on this Earth, or in this solar system at all, for that matter."

"Oh really?" Lord Beerus mustered devilishly, "Well it turns out that you've already failed on that part. I'm more surprised that you haven't already noticed."

Panic struck him first, then confusion, as the deity proceeded to look him up and down, his nose wrinkling in disgust. Gohan frowned, wondering just what in the world he was talking about, the Earth was still intact after all.

And that's when he felt it. The _breeze_.

Looking down, the halfling yelped in horror, his cheeks resembling the same colour as his hair as he hurriedly made to cover himself with his hands. He was mortified, realising that the heat from Lord Beerus' attack must have burnt his flimsy swimming shorts right off of him. _Utterly_ _vaporised_.

The God in question rolled his eyes, as Gohan groaned in despair, painstakingly aware that he had subsequently flashed the entire cruise ship.

Reluctantly averting his eyes towards them, he depicted both Piccolo and Whis hopelessly holding their heads in their hands in despair, whilst the likes of Krillin and Yamcha struggled to contain their mirth. His poor mother simply did _not_ know where to look whilst his father all but giggled nervously. He couldn't even face the rest of the gang.

Thankfully, Whis promptly came to his aid, clearing his throat as he addressed the occupants of the cruiser, "Excuse me for a moment, everyone."

In a flash, the Angel materialised in front of the young Destroyer and with quick wave of his staff did Gohan feel the comforting weight of his ceremonial garb wrap around him.

"T-Thanks Whis," he mustered, breathing out a sigh of relief now that he was fully clothed, though his cheeks were still blazing bright crimson.

"You're welcome," his mentor said with a small smile, "Though the next time you fight Lord Beerus, _please_ try to wear something a little more durable."

Gohan had never wanted the ground to swallow him up whole so much before, as he watched Whis teleport back to the ship. Composing himself, the young saiyan focussed his attention on his opponent, his eyes now fierce. It was time to get serious.

And it was a good job too, as if he hadn't torn his gaze away from the cruiser at that moment, he may have noticed Bulma, Eighteen, Launch and Bulma's mother staring at Videl with raised eyebrows and wicked grins.

"What?" Videl asked warily, feeling the women's eyes upon her.

"Oh it's nothing," Mrs Briefs implored sweetly, tapping her affectionately on the shoulder as Bulma started to giggle like a school girl, "It's just that - well… good for _you_ , dear."

A bone-quaking yell of might cut through the Satan girl's flustered response, as the pressure they had come to associate with Gohan's Godly power struck their senses. His roar was wholesome and powerful, creating a pulsating wave of energy as his aura swirled around him like a twister before settling down again, his crimson stare hard and dangerous.

"Touched a nerve have I, boy?" Lord Beerus mocked, "Or are you just throwing your toys out of the pram in light of your embarrassment?"

The teenager didn't reply. Instead, he phased out, driving a spinning kick to the God's face, grazing his cheekbone and drawing blood. He quickly followed up in his attack with a crippling gut punch, causing the Destroyer to double over, saliva spewing from his snarling lips. His shoulders hunched forwards as he grasped tightly at his midsection, his features marred with anger as he whirled around to deliver a well-aimed backhand to the halfling's skull when he was promptly sprayed directly in the face with what appeared to be… _water_?!

Gohan grinned devilishly, as he grasped the spray bottle he had materialised in his hand, watching with triumph as the water dribbled down Lord Beerus' snout.

"No! Bad kitty!" The young Destroyer scolded, spraying the God again as he attempted to swipe the offending bottle out of his palm. "Stop it, or else no more sardines for you!"

"Why you _little_ \- !" Lord Beerus spat, "I HATE it when you do that - blegh!"

His smirk widened, unleashed even more of the spray before banishing the bottle back to his safe place, phasing out whilst he was distracted by the water invading his pupils, whipping around and grabbing him in a strong headlock.

Lord Beerus growled, infuriated by Gohan's trickery as his smirk remained unwavering, "I've been waiting _years_ to get you back for this."

 **FLICK!**

He howled with rage, as the halfling used his thumb and forefinger to deliver a devastating flick to his forehead. A sharp elbow strike to the ribs caused the teen to let go, winded as he was flung backwards and off of the Destroyer. Though Gohan couldn't help but chuckle with satisfaction, as he noticed the throbbing red mark evident right between Lord Beerus' eyes.

"Oh you're going to get it now," The God of Destruction spoke lowly, as dark clouds began to encircle them both, painting the sky above them, "The preliminary tests are over. Now the real battle of Gods begins."

"Bring it on, Lord Beerus," he goaded, "I've been itching to go all out."

"Is that so?" he quirked, as Gohan nodded with a more daring confidence.

A trembling wave of suspense drifted between them, before the teenager rushed forwards, his energy climbing to new heights as the hot Ki ignited the air. The dark clouds dispersed, revealing the clear blue sky in all its glory, though it was marred with a spiderweb of lightening bolts that cracked and surged with power as the fighters clashed once again.

 **CRACK! BOOM! SMASH!**

The furious amber fire surrounding Gohan's frame flickered in the high winds they created, frenzied auras dancing around each other, connecting blows sending tremors back towards the Earth, until the force of their fight sent Gohan tumbling away from his opponent, spinning to a halt.

"I've got another present for you," Lord Beerus taunted, floating above him, his index finger raised towards the atmosphere.

"How generous," the halfling spat sarcastically, a wad of blood and saliva spewing forth from his lips as he did so, another golden sphere of death building right above his head, glowing in his reddish eyes.

Though the Destroyer ignored his jibe, grinning from ear to ear. "Think carefully now," he told him, "This orb is too heavy to just toss aside like the last."

"Shit!" Gohan swore, as Lord Beerus proceeded to chuck the offending blast right at him.

His predecessor was right, as the teenager had no choice but to catch the sphere out of the air like he did the last, though this time, the density was unrelenting. He similarly had no clue as to _how_ Lord Beerus had managed to develop an attack like that, or that it was even possible. Still, he didn't have time to ponder, all he did know was that there was no way he would be able to deflect it up into the atmosphere - what if it crashed into the _sun_ of all things?! That could not end well.

Thinking quickly, the young saiyan grappled the orb with both hands, pushing his own energy into it in order to quash it down. To both his _and_ Lord Beerus' surprise, the orb grew smaller and smaller as Gohan's divine aura intensified. The winds began to roar and wane, as the teenager squeezed and squeezed, condensing it down so much so that it now fit into the palm of his hand.

Then, it detonated in a blaze of lightening and golden particles, leaving nothing put a smoking hue of dust and clouds in front of him.

Lord Beerus' mouth fell open, though the movement only slight and short lasting. He quickly recovered as Gohan panted, his arms trembling from the strain. And, to the God's confusion, the Junior Destroyer actually chuckled.

"Something you find amusing?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

Gohan shook his head, "It's just as I thought. You're not even close to using your full power."

His predecessor snorted, "What gave it away?"

The young halfling gave him a pointed look, causing the Destroyer to let out a bark of laughter. After all, if he had been _actually_ trying, the Earth would have already gone 'bye-bye' minutes ago.

"Apologies," said Lord Beerus, "I just didn't want you to tire so early, especially when we've not seen the full potential of this form. But now that you're beginning to understand how to use it, why don't we step it up a notch?"

He didn't have time to react, as the deity knocked him out of the sky with a sizzling energy blast. His garb and body were instantly charcoaled, his skin burning and muscle fibres screaming in alarm. Gohan cried out in pain, as Lord Beerus continued to knock him around like a volley ball.

 _What the hell?!_ Gohan thought in both shock and horror, as he was struck with a crippling hammer fist to the skull.

Seeing stars, he barely managed to make out the God's beetle black eyes gleaming at him with malice, his subsequent yowl of agony muffled by the Destroyer's hand over his face, sharp claws sinking into his cheeks and forehead as he blasted him at point blank range.

They propelled through the air, back towards the awaiting ocean as the wind rushed past his ears with an audible squeal. He felt helpless, utterly helpless as his body continued to smoulder from the rapid blasts that successively penetrated his entire being. It felt as though he was being cooked from the inside out, as Lord Beerus unleashed his power, the fingers embedded into his skull already surging with another heated energy attack.

"COME ON!" He roared, "Show me something worthy of a God!"

He couldn't move. His arms and legs completely paralysed. But in amongst the agony that fled through his nervous system, a fleeting thought entered his mind, that maybe Lord Beerus himself was the perpetrator of such a callous and incapacitating move. Though dwelling on it wasn't making the situation better by any means, as they shot towards a deserted island way in the distance.

A forest of tropical trees wavered in the windstorm they were creating, exotic birds frantically scarpering away from their branches before the forest was completely ripped apart from its roots. The ocean parted like the red sea, sky-reaching waves either side of them as they pelted through the air.

"Pathetic! Are you really going to let me slam you into the ground without a real fight, BOY?!"

Gohan scrunched up his eyes, preparing himself for the horrific impact to come, Lord Beerus' murderous shriek echoing in his ears -

 **KA-BOOM!**

A sonic boom detonated as the Destroyers collided harshly with the ground. A tidal wave of soil, sea and charcoaled trees engulfed him amidst the dome of vibrant violet light that shone out against the backdrop of the Earth.

The ground split apart from the force of impact - and erupted.

White hot torrents of lava upheaved from the sea bed and exploded into the air. The ocean bubbled and popped, the salty water now tainted with molten rock and crimson heat.

" _GOHAN!_ " The cries of Piccolo and the others were lost on him, as the light began to dwindle, revealing the once bountiful island - lifeless, a deadened wasteland engulfed by fire and flame from the eruption. A deep, spiralling crater was unearthed at its centre, with Gohan lying unmoving at the bottom.

"My my," said Whis with an audible sigh, "What a commotion those two make."

"G-Goku _do_ something!" Chi-Chi sobbed, grasping onto her husband's bicep as a giant plume of blackened smoke unfurled in the distance, "Help him!"

The hurt in the saiyan's obsidian eyes was evident. "I-I wish I could Chi," he told her gently, though he was quite obviously struggling with that fact, "But I'm all out of energy, the ritual completely drained me. I-I doubt that I'd be much use to him anyway."

The ox-princess let out a shaky breath, attempting to gulp down the fear that rose like bile in her throat. Piccolo snarled, throwing off his turban in one swift movement, catching the attention of the others as the weighted cloth sank into the already damaged deck.

"Well I'm not out of energy," the Namekian stated boldly, his eyes hardening in determination, "And I'm not about to let Gohan go at this alone."

"Piccolo -," Goku started, half warning, half out of concern, when he was cut short by Whis suddenly appearing before them.

"You will _not_ intervene," he said, his cheery demeanour no longer present, his stance unwavering, "I know this must be difficult for you to watch, but I implore you to stand down. You do not stand a chance against Lord Beerus, and I will not be held responsible for what he does to you should you dare try to interrupt this fight."

Piccolo glared back, as the Angel surveyed him closely. It was - unnerving.

"Besides Piccolo, you should have a little more faith in your former pupil," he said, the whimsical smile back full force, "After all, you were the first one to make him realise his potential."

"What was that?!" He seethed. He didn't care just who this Angel was, a higher being, a deity, or that he could quite possibly kill him with the tip of his little finger. _No one_ mocked him.

"Oh, I think you know what I'm talking about," said Whis, unfazed by his reaction, a gleam to his eyes that he couldn't quite place - when it happened.

A ghost of a voice echoed from within the depths of his mind, fleeting and gone with the moment.

 _B-But I'm afraid Mister Piccolo!_

 _Hn, you'll laugh at your fears when you find out who you really are._

Piccolo blinked, as Whis continued to smile knowingly. Did he just - ?! Did he just enter his mind? Force a memory forwards that he had long locked deep within himself?

But _how_?

The Namekian warrior had always taken pride in the fact that his mind was like a impenetrable fortress… and yet… this _being_ had broken down its walls as if it were **nothing**.

He stood down. Reluctantly. Clenching his jaw tight as the Angel turned back around with a nod of approval and looked back towards the hologram in the centre of the deck. His eyes locked with Goku's momentarily, a silent understanding drifting between them. And he hoped, how he hoped that Whis could feel their frustration and anger burning into the back of his head.

* * *

Lord Beerus hummed disapprovingly, his brown boots tapping on the desolate ground before him, prompting the halfling to warily open his eyes, peering up at the deity through the amber dust clouds that encircled them, fiery embers of ash filtering through the air.

"It's a good thing that you managed to escape at the last moment, or else you'd be nothing but a pile of ashes," he informed the teen, "And we'd be back to square one, without a Junior Destroyer."

Gohan coughed up a mouthful of crimson blood, clutching painfully at his broken ribs from where he lay on his side, his body aching considerably. The God of Destruction sneered, as he griped, "Y-You don't scare me, Lord Beerus. Y-You and I both know that y-you w-wouldn't have wiped me from existence."

He scoffed in annoyance, "Maybe so, but you would have been gravely injured. Even more so than you are now."

With that he kicked him over with a nudge of his foot, causing the young saiyan to bite the inside of his cheek for want of not giving the God the satisfaction of letting out another cry of pain. He lay heavily on his back, his long red hair fanned out around him, dirty and dust laden like the rest of his attire.

"What a _bore_ ," Lord Beerus growled, grasping his scruffy mane with clawed fingers and raising his head up to meet his intimidating eyes, "I'm half asleep now."

He raised his other fist to deliver an agonising blow to his face, but Gohan still had his reflexes, the jarring punch bouncing off his forearms that he quickly brought up in front of his head, causing Lord Beerus' anger to rise even further, attempting to smash through his guard again.

"You despicable boy, you BORE me!" He snapped, spit flying from his snarling mouth, "Is this how you dare to face your true opponents?!"

The teenager said nothing, too busy trying to ignore the vice grip that the God had on his hair, and pushing even more of his energy into his guard.

"Make no mistake!" Lord Beerus roared, pulling him up to his height, his eyes stinging relentlessly, he could have sworn that the deity was trying to scalp him, "You are fighting for your SURVIVAL, brat! Do you really think that Perses will be so forgiving?!"

His words were merciless, taunting, and the young saiyan was desperately trying to keep a firm lid on his anger. He scrunched his eyes tightly shut, as iron fists connected with his forearms, again, again and again, bruising the flesh and creating a sickening mosaic of slashes with his claws, accompanying the blood that already had started to pool at his feet.

"Whis was _wrong_ ," He spat savagely, drawing back his fist ready for another hit, "He was wrong about you, if _this_ is all the promise you show!"

No, Gohan thought. The words cutting through him like a knife. He _had_ to do this! Especially after disappointing everyone, especially after sacrificing - **_everything_**. But he was struggling to even think straight. It was incredibly difficult to summon his inner strength what with everything hurting already, not to mention Lord Beerus' unforgiving onslaught and the God screeching in his ears.

"What a waste of time! Maybe you _should_ just go back to Earth and live out the rest of your miserable existence with that **_bastard child_** of yours until Perses dooms us all! Or do you not wish to save them like you claim?!"

Now **_that_** touched a nerve.

A surge of fury ignited within him as he grabbed the Destroyer's oncoming fist, suddenly grinding it to a stop and snapped his head forwards, meeting his attacker head on with a sickening **CRACK**.

Lord Beerus howled, his hands flying to his skull and a string of tears welling in his eyes. The halfling followed up quickly, curling himself up onto his back to drive more power into his boots that embedded into the God's chest and kicking him harshly away from him. The Destroyer was flung through the air at an incredible speed, allowing Gohan to scramble to his feet, panting as he did so, watching with awaiting eyes as Lord Beerus skidded to a halt above him.

" _HEAD-BUTTING_?!" He guffawed in a blind fury, hands placed on his hips as he scolded the teen from up high, "HEAD-BUTTING IS FOR _STREET FIGHTS_! NOT A BATTLE OF GODS!"

"Says the one who keeps pulling my hair!" Gohan shot back, frowning up at him, "And besides, it _worked_ didn't it?!"

"What a childish response," the Destroyer huffed, "That, and it didn't even hurt."

"Liar!"

"Be quiet boy!" He snapped angrily, before his lips curled into an ominous smirk, "Though at least you've proven to me that there's some fight left in you yet."

The young saiyan scowled, as Lord Beerus mustered dangerously, "It's just a pity that this level of power you're displaying doesn't have any affect on me at all."

He blinked, he really didn't like that sudden glint in his eyes -

 **WHAM!**

Gohan yelped, as without warning, Lord Beerus disappeared, and he was met with a brutal kick to the spine from behind, sending him cannonballing into the air, past the blackened clouds of smoke and volcanic debris and out towards the ozone layer. He sped past the atmosphere, careening to a halt only when the vast array of galaxies and stars were above him, the entire planet slowly turning on its axis below his feet.

The broken fragments of Planet Mars drifted silently before him, reflecting his deep crimson eyes. He was now fully aware that he was very far away from the Z-Gang. And all the more so, he really didn't want them seeing him getting his arse kicked more than they had to - unless Whis had managed to display the fight to them in high definition, of which he begrudging realised was a huge possibility.

There was a small noise behind him, a displacement of particles, which caused him to whirl around, his gaze narrowing in annoyance when he realised it was Lord Beerus. The deity appeared to be ignoring him altogether, casually tossing a palm-sized ball of destruction energy in his palm before throwing it upwards and nudging it on the tip of his nose, kicking it with the edge of his boot, flicking it with his tail -

"What the hell?!" He exclaimed sharply, awaiting an explanation as to why the deity had just lobbed him into space, getting even more irritated when he continued to ignore him, seemingly enjoying his game far too much to care.

"Oi! Stop mocking me!" Gohan pressed again, this time more loudly, causing the God to look towards him, the glowing orb of Destruction swirling in his palm.

He snickered darkly at the menacing look the teen was giving him, "I told you that you were boring me, didn't I? Good grief. All this space to work with and you haven't even _tried_ to attack me yet. Do I have to provoke you even more?"

The halfling's gaze hardened, as Lord Beerus continued, "We all know that emotions fuel your power, Gohan. Tell me, will you seriously push me to Destroy your precious Earth prematurely without you having sufficiently fought for it?"

"Don't -," He started, yet the Destroyer cut across him just as quickly, the violet glimmer of the Hakai reflecting in his dark eyes.

"You will only have yourself to blame."

A vibrant hue of violet light lit up the vastness of dark space around them, intermingling with the mass of colourful galaxies lightyears away, as the orb in Lord Beerus' palm floated upwards, joining the dozens - no _hundreds_ of blasts of Destruction that took aim towards the Earth.

"I thought that you were going to take this seriously," Lord Beerus said pointedly, the purplish glow lighting up his figure like the celestial being that he was, "Do not disappoint me."

Gohan started forwards just as the blasts were let loose. He whipped around faster than lightening, his fiery red hair trailing behind him as he blew them away with sharp, precise beams of his own Ki that erupted from his palms.

A cacophony of explosions rocked the Earth's surface as the orbs were extinguished, and the young saiyan could only imagine what the unsuspecting Earthlings below must be thinking as he unleashed another wave of energy that lit up one side of the planet. He only hoped that they weren't panicking too much - and that Bulma could come up with some elaborate excuse of space-weaponry testing or something as an explanation as to why the whole world was shaking.

To the young saiyan's annoyance, with every blast that he destroyed, it would be replaced by dozens more, multiplying at an alarming rate. Gohan knew that the outcome would be gruesome if one of those orbs hit. Though he was already beginning to sweat from the excursion, phasing in and out, snuffing out the fatal orbs as quickly as he could before they managed to get dangerously close to the Earth's atmosphere.

Lord Beerus was watching him intently, the intensity of his stare growing more calculated as another explosion rocked the space around them. _Good. He's learning._

"I'm still waiting!" He spouted, as another string of purple blasts ignited and smouldered in the upper atmosphere, "Show me the true power of a Super Saiyan God!"

To his delight, the teenager's temper rose, his deep red eyes glinting with rage as he whirled around to face him, cupping his hands to his bleeding side in an all too familiar pose. "FINE!"

Divine power swept around his frame, sparking violently and causing his flaming aura to build exponentially -

" _KAMEHAMEHAAAAAAAA!_ " Gohan roared, his deep voice booming across space as the signature attack of the Turtle School burst from his palms, wiping out the remaining orbs of Destruction in a cataclysmic display of raw power.

The long tunnel of light blasted straight through the solar system, scorching the deep vastness in its path, lighting up billions of stars and narrowly avoiding any planetary clashes. The vibrant glow died down, as the young Destroyer let his arms come to rest, still glaring fiercely at the God before him.

Lord Beerus' lips twitched, "Looks like you're not quite done yet."

"That's right," Gohan glowered, his fiery red hair much resembling the glow from the hot sun in the distance, "And I won't be until I've managed to match you fist for fist. It's the only way I can stop you from hurting everyone I care about."

"That's the spirit!" He laughed, "Although it takes much more than _spirit_ to become my successor, Gohan."

"Oh I know," the halfling said confidently, "Which is why I aim to master this form, and go even further beyond it."

Lord Beerus raised an eyebrow, although it was clear he was relishing in the challenge his junior brought, "Strong words as always. Though I must admit, I'm curious to see if there's some bark to your bite."

 **CLASH!**

The pressure and heat intensified tenfold, as their fists struck with an unrelenting force of divine energy. The sudden colliding impetus of the Destroyers sending a monumental shockwave battering across the solar system, its propulsion sending a noticeable shudder through to the young saiyan's core.

Gohan's long cloak blew back in the fierce aftershock, struggling to maintain his offensive form as Lord Beerus continued to push forwards, his deep purple aura spilling out of him and lighting up the void around them - before he attacked, forcing the teen to block his relentless blows and sparsely dodge out of the way of another, before he launched himself towards the deity once more.

Blinding flickers of their red and purple auras could be seen in bursts of light high above the Earth's atmosphere, dancing around each other as they continued to meet head on, drawn like moths to a flame - the entire solar system quivering from the combined strength of their Godly might.

"Ah," mustered Whis knowingly back at the cruise ship, small splinters of debris from the broken decking had started to lift into the air, the ground beneath them vibrating, "It appears as though they have finally taken this brawl to the next level."

"What?" Tien spoke suddenly, snapping his three eyes towards him in shock, "You're telling us that they weren't even fighting seriously before now?!"

"Correct," the Angel chuckled warmly, "In fact, they were just testing out the waters so to speak."

At his words, an electrical charge surged around them, making the entire Earth tremble and forcing the gang to dig their heels into the ground, steadying themselves as another quaking rush of energy bombarded the planet.

"Eek!" Bulma squeaked, grasping onto Vegeta tightly, "What's happening?!"

"Hm," said Whis, "Their impacts are creating energy waves like how earthquakes cause tsunamis. These waves gain strength the further they travel. If they're not careful, the consequences will be most dire."

"What do you mean?" Krillin gulped, hoisting Marron onto his hip and holding her protectively to his strong chest.

The celestial being's features suddenly became serious, "It is common knowledge amongst higher beings that when two Destroyers engage in combat, it can rip entire universes apart. But it's like I said, Gohan is not a fully fledged Destroyer so the circumstances aren't hugely consequential. Be that as it may, we are certainly not out of the danger zone."

"Hang on a minute!" Videl demanded hotly, her sapphire eyes wide and frantic, tearing her gaze away from where she had been diligently watching the fight unfold, "You're saying that if Gohan and Lord Beerus keep hammering each other like that then the whole universe could explode?!"

"I daresay it would be inevitable as they continue to channel more strength with each blow," he sighed, causing the girl to pale, "The damage will and _is_ increasing exponentially as each shockwave ripples across the universe, thus creating a chain reaction of destruction. Galaxies will explode like strings of firecrackers. All the planets, the Kais, even Gohan and Lord Beerus could be lost until nothing remains but an empty void."

The Angel's brow furrowed in thought, "It _is_ true they have never fought like this before…"

Catching them staring at him in horror, Whis flashed them a cheery smile, "But it's no matter! I can stop them if needed."

"Wicked," Goten and Trunks gasped, their eyes wide with boyish wonder in light of the hazardous situation.

"It is _not_ wicked OR cool, boys!" Bulma growled, before rounding on Whis, "Oi mister know-it-all, just how many of those galaxy destroying shockwaves can the universe withstand before it blows to smithereens?!"

"Now that's a good question…," Whis said thoughtfully, scratching his chin with his hand, "At full power I'd say about, three?"

"THREE?!" The Z-Gang chorused hotly, though the deity nonchalantly waved off their concerns.

"Do not trifle yourself Earthlings," he smiled, "I am certain that if they were causing too much devastation then The Supreme Kai would already be blowing up the communication waves of the celestial in a blind panic - "

 **BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP!**

As if on cue, the gem on his sceptre flashed in a rapid alarming red. Whis sighed, tapping the long staff so that the hologram of Gohan and Lord Beerus' vicious battle dissipated, and in its place materialised the frantic features of The Supreme Kai.

He appeared rather flustered, his cheeks puffing outwards and a sheen of sweat evident on his brow. But that wasn't all that was off putting about the Kai's demeanour, as the occupants of the deck couldn't help but notice the fluffy pink towel that was wrapped around his head like a turban, nor the other that he held tightly around his small body.

"Good afternoon Supreme Kai!" Whis greeted pleasantly, clearly unfazed by the Creation God's startling attire, "To what may I owe the -?"

"WHIS!" Shin cried madly, "What in Zalama's holy name is going on down there?! I - !"

He stopped short, his face glowing bright red when he realised that he had a much larger audience than he expected.

"O-Oh!" He spluttered, locking eyes with the bewildered Z-Fighters and clearing his throat, attempting to quell his outburst, "H-Hello Son Goku and friends. Good to see you again."

"I see that you've noticed Lord Beerus and Lord Gohan's fight," said Whis, not giving the warriors a chance to offer their own greetings.

" _Noticed_?!" The Supreme Kai shrieked, his towel dropping a little out of shock and forcing him to hoist it back up underneath his chin, "How could I not _notice_?! I've had the lower Kais hounding me telepathically whilst I was in the middle of a bubble bath! Devastating shockwaves have been reported all across the universe! You've GOT to call them off before they - !"

"Poppycock," Whis chirped, "They have not Destroyed anything that infringes the universal balance just yet. Although… the Milky Way Galaxy is in need of a new Planet Mars."

" _MARS_?!" He blundered, "What happened to Mars?!"

"Ah, you see," The Angel mustered rather tentatively, "Lord Gohan had a bit of an accident."

"DID HE **_SLIP_**?!"

"Why yes! How did you know that?" He chuckled, shaking his head as the bamboozled Kai let out a strangled noise of despair, "Oh do calm down Supreme Kai, you give our young Junior Destroyer little credit. I'm sure that he'll figure it out soon enough."

 **KA-BOOM!**

Another rip-roaring shockwave clattered towards the Earth at that moment, sending the Z-Gang crashing to their knees from the omnipotent force. A splinter of lightening bolts threatened to split open the sky, that rapidly turned from a deep blue to pitch black in a matter of seconds. A howl of extreme winds battered against the hull of the ship, as gigantic waves thrashed around them.

The ensuing chaos appeared to stretch right across the universe and past dimensions as The Supreme Kai, along with an onlooking Kibito went tumbling to the ground with a loud screech, the transmission cutting off abruptly, leaving nothing but a fuzzy screen in its wake.

Whis pursed his lips as the flummoxed gang helped pick one other off of the floor, "Oh dear."

* * *

His bones groaned with a nauseating ache, as another electrifying tremor of destructive energy rippled from the connection of his and Lord Beerus' fists. This time, a glaring flash of white light escaped the fray, the force of their collision so great that they were blown apart, silvery wisps of divine Ki rippling across the galaxy and out into the rest of the universe.

The brightness pulsated and grew exponentially, a cluster of meteorites evaporating like dust as it hit. The young saiyan screamed, his muscles bulging as he threw another fast strike towards Lord Beerus' head, which was quickly countered by his own. Their combined might swelled and filtered outwards in another ruinous wave, and Gohan could just _feel_ the universe begin to buckle from the pressure.

 **WHAM!**

Another hit detonated the space surrounding them, and the Earth below them convulsed, as Gohan gritted his teeth in concentration, the shockwave pouring out of them as he stopped Lord Beerus' knee from driving into his chest.

The young saiyan flipped himself over, using the deity's outstretched limb to propel himself backwards, the galaxy waning as though it was screaming in objection. Lord Beerus smirked, their power rising again as the teenager sling-shotted himself back towards his opponent in a swirl of amber and gold.

And the universe braced itself for the impending shockwave that would no doubt cripple it beyond repair.

One more. Just one more -

 **BOOM!**

"Ha! It worked!" Gohan grinned, as no such tremor spewed forth, only the sound that of their clashing fists ringing around them.

There was a flicker of surprise within Lord Beerus' eyes, as he too realised that the earth-shattering divine energy was no longer leaking out of them. He was caught off-guard even, as the young Destroyer gave him no time to retort, delivering a nasty punch straight to the gut before blasting him away with a golden ball of hot Ki.

The God of Destruction came speeding to a stop, blinking rapidly in the dim glow of the blueish world that remained safe and intact, circling slowly beneath their feet.

"Clever," he observed, "You managed to neutralise the attack."

"It took me a while to figure out how to do it," said Gohan with a slight shrug to his shoulders, "This amount of divine energy is really difficult to contain, but I think I've got a firmer grasp on it. Now I can go all out."

"Hn," Lord Beerus grunted, "And here was me thinking that you were just getting carried away, as usual."

"Are you admitting that you were wrong?" he teased, causing the God to scoff in annoyance.

"As if," he said snidely, "I'm just pointing out the fact that maybe you're not as entirely thick skulled as you present yourself."

Gohan scowled, as he continued, "Though I must say that I'm intrigued. You said that only _now_ you can go all out? What have I told you about holding back on me, brat?"

The teenager couldn't help but chuckle, even in spite of his predecessor's murderous tone, "I told you that I wasn't used to this power. I didn't want to blow up the whole solar system."

"Oh this is panning out just nicely," Lord Beerus laughed, clearly amused by the fact, "This is exactly how my dream was foretold. But… I can sense something is bothering you. You seem, disappointed?"

He frowned at the Destroyer's words, feeling vulnerable all of a sudden. He didn't like it. He never did, especially when those older, wiser or more powerful could read him like an open book.

"Actually, now that you mention it, yeah something is bothering me," he replied, deciding it was better to admit it than to skirt around the subject. Lord Beerus wouldn't take too kindly to that after all.

"Well, out will it it boy," the deity demanded, sharp eyes surveying him, "What's the matter? Is this divine Ki not enough for you? Does achieving the level of Gods not measure up to your 'standards'?"

"That's not it," Gohan said firmly, before letting out a sigh, "I suppose that it's what it took to achieve it. I didn't reach this level of power on my own. I mean, do you really think that I could have done it alone? Like, just through training?"

"Perhaps," said Lord Beerus, his gaze softening slightly, "But probably not this quickly."

"Yeah," the teenager said dejectedly, "And that's what frustrates me. I mean it's great and all, don't get me wrong. I just, I-I don't feel worthy."

A flash of a smile graced the God's features for a split second, and it happened so fast that Gohan missed it completely.

"Maybe so," Lord Beerus mustered, arms folded across his chest, "But think of it as a stepping stone to something more, something that you can build on with your own abilities and power."

The halfling looked up, as his opponent took a stronger stance. "Now stop dawdling," he told him gruffly, "I want you to come at me with everything you've got. No more holding back, unless you want to see this world _destroyed_!"

Challenge accepted. As Gohan reached deep within himself, drawing his power back to the surface in a spiral of fiery energy and leapt at the Destroyer.

His fist slammed into his cheek, sending a spray of spit and blood flying, though the teen had no choice but to recoil as Lord Beerus was once again on the onslaught, his limbs burring in motion as he made to inflict significant damage to the halfling. Gohan snarled, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth as an elbow crashed into his skull and caused him to nearly bite his tongue off.

He spat back to the Earth below, as Lord Beerus clotheslined him out of the air. The young saiyan grappled him off with a great amount of difficulty, fingers sinking into the Destroyer's shoulder before he booted him away with a painful kick to the side, blowing him further backwards by a sharp gust of sizzling Ki that escaped his rampaging aura.

Lord Beerus bared up in anger, his own energy rippling with static as he charged, meeting the halfling blow for blow, a series of sonic booms rattling the air. Though incredibly, with each clash the shockwaves continued to be neutralised, owing to Gohan's firmer handle on keeping his new powers in check.

"A valiant effort Gohan, but enough is enough!" Lord Beerus roared, smashing his knee into his skull and punting him across the atmosphere so hard that it nearly ripped a hole in the ozone layer. The clanging boom that followed almost blew apart his eardrums.

The teenager's aura dwindled slightly as he grasped onto his aching ribs that he was certain were completely shattered by now, a sticky warm patch of blood welling beneath his garb. And Lord Beerus noticed.

"All out indeed!" His predecessor continued to taunt, shouting over the Earth, as the halfling struggled back to full height. That last blow _really_ hurt! "If you truly understood the extent of your divine power then you wouldn't be taking this fight so lightly. Such a pity when the fate of your world is at stake!"

Gohan panted, wincing as he looked down and inspected the crimson liquid that coated his hand. Damn it, and he thought that he was just starting to get a one up on Lord Beerus!

And just did the thought enter his mind, did a swell of negative energy strike his senses. He looked up, his red eyes widening as a gigantic ball of Destruction erupted from the end of Lord Beerus' finger. The familiar devastation, the all encompassing feeling of dread and _death_ swirled above him, a fate that - as Lord Beerus quite rightly put it, would be in store for the Earth if he didn't stop it.

 _Oh COME ON! Just how many effing death balls was he going to throw at him today?!_

The Hakai sparked and whirred in motion, sizzling with murderous intent as it grew high above him, threatening to eclipse the world. But Gohan stood his ground, balling up his bloodied fists and thrusting them outwards as the giant violet blast hurtled towards him.

 **BAMF! SIZZLE! CRACK!**

He clenched his jaw as it connected, a harsh growl rumbling within his chest as he desperately tried to push the sphere back, his arms straining from the force.

It rippled and sizzled with raw, destructive might, as Lord Beerus' cruel laughter cut through the air. The pressure was overwhelming, and Gohan knew that there was _no way_ he would be able to muster enough power to cancel out the blast with his own Hakai, for it was far less developed than his elder's. The cat-like God had realised this too, it seemed, grinning madly as he held out his clawed palm, a secondary wave of Ki bursting from his fingers and causing the teen to buckle - the disastrous orb rapidly approaching the Earth.

No! He wouldn't let him! Gohan thought arduously, his aura flaring wildly around him as his forearms shook.

And for the first time in a very _very_ long time, Lord Beerus looked stunned. As the young saiyan actually started to push _back_ , a feral howl erupting from his throat as the thunderous sphere of death was steadily making its way back towards him.

"What the - ?" The God of Destruction snarled, unleashing more of his energy into the blast.

"N-No way!" The teenager puffed, still straining under the crushing pressure, but maintaining his strong stance, "There's no w-way that I'm going to give _up_!"

"Your resilience is admirable," Lord Beerus surmised, "But let's end this already. There is nothing more tiresome than a stalemate!"

He failed to stop the scream that flew from his lips, as the orb pulsated with a debilitating force that threatened to flatten him completely. His senses were assaulted with the staggering might of the Destroyer, and he was forced to squeeze his eyes tightly shut for want of not being blinded by the intense flash of light that followed. It was utterly electrifying, as dark purple bolts of lightening shot out of the sphere and grappled with his arms, stabbing at his tendons and causing his nerve endings to burn in agony.

He could feel the amount of divine energy increasing once more, unable to stop it flooding out of him as he stumbled in midair, attempting to immobilise the approaching blast with all of his might. The pressure squeezed tightly at his senses, the dense matter that was steadily building around him not unlike that of a collapsing star, and if that exploded then it really would be the end of everything.

They couldn't risk another shockwave, damn it! The halfling thought bitterly, panic rising in his belly as he felt the distortions in the air, silvery wisps of energy escaping the Hakai in his grasp. They flooded back towards the Earth, and if Gohan were able to open his eyes then he was certain that he would be able to see the entire planet heaving from the amount of power being slammed into it.

But he didn't know what was the best measure to take. At this level of density the best thing he could manage was to limit the resounding shockwave to this solar system and a few of its closest neighbours.

He swore under his breath, creaking open his eyelids slightly in the blinding light to see the Earth swirling with a barrage of blackened clouds and clashing purple lightening bolts. This did not look good.

If there was any doubt in his mind that Lord Beerus was just bluffing on Destroying the entire solar system then it had completely gone to HFIL. Of course, it was no skin off _his_ nose if the Earth and its surrounding kin met a most dismal end, all the Milky Way had appeared to have done was cause him trouble thus far. And if Videl and… _the baby_ were wiped out with it, then it would be a lot less to worry about for the God of Destruction.

He could not let that happen.

A pair of beautiful sapphire eyes drifted into his mind as Gohan let out another yowl of frustration and rage, grappling with the gigantic orb as the heat bristled against his skin. But alas, no matter how much he tried, it was _useless_. And he was unable to stop it from pressing forwards, pushing his Ki underneath him in order to steady himself, wisps of sparking divinity flooding outwards as it went.

How the hell could he stop such a devastating concentration of divine energy?! With the power to Destroy the universe with its subsequent explosion?!

More jagged, robust daggers of lightening stabbed at the vastness of space around him, the entire universe roaring in his ears, along with the startling rumble of the Earth, as though it was going to split apart at any given moment. The violet light grew and grew, the end near, closing in, when -

It stopped.

"W-What the - ?!" Gohan blinked, gobsmacked. He panted from the exertion, sweat rolling down his brow as he looked frantically about him.

He didn't understand. The Hakai had completely disappeared, the staggering light gone. All of space was calm and quiet, the Earth below spinning naturally on its axis, serene blue skies and waters, gentle fluffy white clouds waving back at them - as if nothing had even happened.

His eyes boggled, staring in amazement at the Destroyer across the globe, who all but grinned wryly back. They were still here, _everything_ was. And suddenly, it was all too clear.

"What did you do?" The teenager asked blindly, his crimson eyes still adjusting to the dim light now that the imposing orb had disappeared.

"I neutralised the energy that had built up between us," Lord Beerus explained in a bored manner, elaborating before he could even begin to ask him why he would do such a thing when he had been threatening mass destruction all along, "So that we can finally finish this battle on a clean slate."

"B-But where did it _go_?!" He blundered, still in awe and raked with confusion, "The Hakai? All that divine Ki?!"

"Not your concern," the deity waved him off, "Though you may learn in time if you grow strong enough. It is a complicated technique that requires a one hundred percent power-up."

Gohan's mouth fell open in shock, dumfounded, though a bubble of laugher made its way up his chest, escaping his throat before he could stop himself.

"And just _what_ is so funny?" Lord Beerus quipped, as the young saiyan shook his head in an attempt to compose himself.

"It's nothing," he told him, giving him a wry smile, though a dark look lingered in his eyes, "It's just that you were having a go at me earlier for holding back, and you're doing it too. I can't believe that we nearly destroyed the whole galaxy with that last attack and you were still holding back."

The God stared back silently, as he continued, "You barely managed to defeat Perses at one hundred percent. And here's me barely hanging on against you when your power is already being drained by Zamasu."

Lord Beerus scoffed at his words, the reminder of the corrupted Kai's misdeeds still far too raw, "Don't sully your progress, boy. You have come a long way."

"But will it be enough, Lord Beerus?"

His long ears twitched as he regarded him for a moment, a rare sincerity to his gaze, "It's difficult to tell right now, but Whis seems to have a hell of a lot of faith in you."

Gohan blinked up at him, as he said, "It's amazing what we can do when the fate of our home is at stake, Gohan."

He quirked an eyebrow, as for a moment Lord Beerus looked as though he was reminiscing about something, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"So what do you say?" He asked him, a sudden, sinister look in his eyes that replaced the haunted memories lost within, forcing the teenager to quickly take up his guard. "Let us finally conclude this fight at one hundred percent power, no holding back. And I'll know if you do."

The halfling gaped. What?! Didn't he just tell him that he was barely hanging _-_

 **BAM!**

He yelled in both surprise and pain, as he shot over to the other side of the Earth with a gruesome kick to the stomach, crashing unceremoniously into a meteorite that exploded on impact.

Dazed, as he tried to fight his way out of the ensuing dust and rubble, he heard Lord Beerus call out, " _One hundred_ percent! Am I clear?!"

With his aura blazing, Gohan attacked. Bursting through the dust clouds and skimming over the Earth's atmosphere, hitting the fully fledged deity head on with a striking blow to the sternum, the resounding crack of knuckles on bone quaking the atoms in the blackened void. Their fists clashed even more violently now, like two titans locked in a ruthless brawl, threatening to shift the very planets that surrounded them.

The startling view of the glorious myriad of galaxies where lost on them, as they fought to overpower the other, and Gohan had no qualms in channeling his Godly energy into every fibre of his being. It was much safer now that the build up of pressurised Ki had disappeared, though the young saiyan didn't know for how much longer it would stay like that, as Lord Beerus cracked him under the chin with a forceful uppercut, causing his aura to flicker.

Though there was no reason to hold back, as long as he managed to end the fight quickly for want of the divine Ki not dangerously building up again should he struggle to control it - which wasn't the most comforting of thoughts by all accounts.

"Let's face it!" Lord Beerus cried, effortlessly catching the teenager's oncoming boot in his palm before backhanding him across the air with a loud **BOOM!** "Your time is up!"

Gohan seethed, wiping the blood away from his bruised lip, his flame-like aura flickering, dying down ever so slightly. He noticed it, but he refused to believe that his power was suddenly wavering.

"Listen, there's nothing to be ashamed of," the God sighed begrudgingly, "Again and again you've surpassed your limits in this fight and reached heights that no saiyan mortal should, much less a half-breed. Even one training to become a Destroyer."

He ducked and dived easily out of the way of the teen's powerful strikes that he continued to unleash upon him in rapid succession. But to Gohan's horror, it felt as though he was actually slowing down.

 _What gives?!_ He growled to himself, as Lord Beerus leered.

"Perhaps gunning for one hundred percent was a mistake, and incredibly premature to think that you would be able to handle such," he chastised, "For now, _this_ amount of divinity you hold is borrowed and I believe that you must harness it until it becomes your own. Do you understand?"

 **SWIPE!**

Lord Beerus quickly stopped his shin that was mere centimetres away from his temple, stopping the young Destroyer in his tracks as he sighed in annoyance, "And _because_ you have not mastered it, you are running out of fuel. Face it boy, it is over."

"No it's NOT!" Gohan yelled, ripping his leg away from him and flipping himself over, kneeing him with a sickening blow to the spine and causing him to double over, "I won't lose!"

And just as the halfling made to follow up in his attack, bringing up his fists to smash the deity in the back of the skull - did the lights snuff out.

His aura faltered, the power of the Super Saiyan God leaving him completely, and in its place left golden hair and emerald green eyes, standing out clearly amongst the vastness of space.

* * *

"I can sense Gohan again!" Trunks gasped suddenly, as a feeling of dread encompassed the onlookers.

"Same here, son," said Vegeta, dark eyes searching the atmosphere above them, now free of the apocalypse that had threatened to engulf them moments ago.

"This isn't good," said Piccolo, "If we can sense him again, then -"

"Indeed," Whis mustered thoughtfully, as the unmistakable glow of the super saiyan radiated towards the Earth from up high. His sceptre had been long forgotten about, given the poor reception in the wake of the Destroyers clash, "It appears that the transformation has a time limit based on the amount of power that it exerts, much like the original Super Saiyan God in Shenron's tale."

Goku's eyes widened, panic gripping at his resolve, "But if that's true, then - "

"H-He's lost," Videl whispered beside him, her father smoothing her shoulders in comfort, her sapphire gaze reflecting the golden light above.

The Angel observed her for a moment, "Not yet."

* * *

"As stubborn as ever!" Lord Beerus glowered, knocking away the halfling's swinging fists and sending him flying with a swift, yet painful, jab to the chest, "You _really_ think that you can still win? You're nothing but a regular super saiyan!"

"Huh?" Gohan mustered, looking down at himself in shock, his eyes widening as he stared at his calloused hands that were encased in a glowing golden aura rather than the fiery amber and crimson light, "Since when?"

The deity gave him an incredulous stare, "You seriously didn't notice?"

"That's strange," the teenager blinked, clenching and unclenching his fists as though he was going to find some kind of explanation beneath his fingertips, "I-I don't feel any different at all! What's going on?"

"How the hell should I know, boy?" Lord Beerus snorted, prompting the halfling to roll his eyes in exasperation.

"Well I don't know do I? This is _your_ premonition after all."

"Enough of your cheek!" He snapped, before frowning in thought, "Hmm, it appears as though your body has learned from the experience of the power of the Super Saiyan God somehow, even though the energy is gone. Yes, yes, that must be it. Merely allowing that power to feed into you was enough to push you past your previous limitations. In a sense, the reddish appearance is gone but the power is apart of you now, the strength burning in you like a flame."

Gohan stared, still trying to come to terms with the fact that the borrowed power had somehow fused with his own, as Lord Beerus smirked.

"It is exactly what we need," he told him, "Though it would no doubt be better if your body retained the divinity, but you'll get there eventually. What do you make of it?"

"I really don't know," he said honestly, "I don't feel any different than I did before. But, I suppose that I can figure all that out later, all that matters now is that I can still try and beat you."

"Ugh, you're still delusional it seems, and sadly I don't think any celestial dragon in the cosmos can fix that," the God sighed hopelessly, before giving him a fearsome stare, "Fine then, if you want to do this the hard way, then give me what's left of that power. ALL OF IT!"

The young Destroyer didn't need to be told twice. And, reaching into the deepest pit of his Ki did he bring it forth, pushing past the boundaries with an almighty scream.

 _"_ HAAAAAAAA! _"_

An abundance of lightening bolts sprang to life around him, thrashing across his frame in rapid succession as he reached the second level, quickly shattering its restraints and breaking into the third. Long, golden locks of hair grew past the back of his knees as his eyebrows disappeared, and his hard emerald eyes glinted with venomous charge.

But the teenager refused to stop there, he had to give Lord Beerus _everything_. Which he did. Diving headlong into the negative emotional storm that remained quashed within him and forcing it outwards in a vibrant burst of violet energy. The aura of Destruction whipped around him, cloaking his golden hair in darkness, much like the way the damning feelings of guilt and longing eclipsed his heart.

The Hakai he created was stronger, more torturous than ever before as he found himself imagining the anger and disappointment that had exuded from his loved ones back on the ship, their vacant stares of sorrow that _he_ had been the cause of. That, and the crippling ache in his heart when he thought of Videl and the unborn child within her.

 **KA-BOOM!**

The sheer strength of Gohan's peak blew Lord Beerus back a few feet, the building pulsating energy causing him to raise a curious eyebrow before unleashing his own destructive aura that whipped about him in a similar swirl of violet fire and a bellowing cry. The Hakai surged between the Destroyers, encompassing them and lighting up the dark void of space. The mass influx of their combined power filtering all across the universe.

"BRACE YOURSELF, BOY!" The God of Destruction roared.

"BRING IT!" Gohan shouted, slipping into an offensive stance before allowing a rush of Ki to propel him towards his opponent, Lord Beerus quickly following suit.

 **SMASH!**

A sonic boom clamoured across the upper atmosphere as the impact of their fists dissipated the Earth's swirling clouds in the northern hemisphere. The young saiyan ignored the quiver of his knuckles against the cantankerous God's, before he unleashed a bombardment of uppercuts to his stomach. Bringing up his leg to punt the deity away, providing him with some distance and unleashing a white hot _Masenko_ from his palms - which was instantly Destroyed by Lord Beerus, much to his chargin.

They collided again as the remnants golden particles settled from where the blast had been extinguished, this time more desperately - at least on Gohan's part. He winced, the breath falling from his lips as all the air was forcibly expelled from his lungs, curtesy of Lord Beerus' cracking shin to his chest. Growling with malice, the halfling retaliated with another blazing fist, before his opponent thwacked him away as though he was merely swatting a pesky fly.

"Not good enough!" Lord Beerus hollered, as Gohan shook his golden hair out of his eyes, his forehead glistening with sweat, "Where is all that power we thought burned like a flame inside of you?! Don't tell me that it's all that easy to snuff out?!"

" _KA - MEH - HA - MEH - !_ " The teenager began to chant, cupping his hands to his side in retort. He was broken and bleeding, half of his ribcage left shattered and deep cuts marring his arms. His ceremonial garb was charred and torn, exposing even more bruises and gashes that littered is body.

Lord Beerus' attire was in a similar state of disarray, though he was nowhere near as wounded. And he seemed to take great pride in the fact, as he watched the swirl of bright blue energy grow rapidly in the halfling's hands, his lips curled in a gloating manner before he phased out, reappearing with his fist embedded in the teenager's gut, forcing the _Kamehameha Wave_ to snuff out completely before he even had a chance to fire.

Gohan choked on his own blood as his bones shuddered from the force of impact, doubling over before he struck the dastardly deity hard in the back of the neck and smashed his knee right into his snout. Lord Beerus snarled as he stumbled back, recovering quickly and delivering a fast spinning kick to the halfling's side, causing him to yowl in pain as he was sent spiralling though the air. Though to the Destroyer's annoyance, he was still standing.

"Damn it, why don't you just give up you annoying brat?!" He spat, as the teen saiyan panted, a small yet determined smile gracing his features.

"It's like you said Lord Beerus," said Gohan, his long golden hair quivering in the breeze he created with his purple aura, "My world is at stake, along with everyone I care about. I can't let you win that easily. And as long as I'm still standing, I can _still_ fight!"

 _Stubborn creature_ , the mighty Destroyer observed, before a deep snarl spewed from his lips, "Is that so? Then what are you waiting for? Put it all in one attack if you must. Though I doubt it'll make a difference."

Something sparked within the teen, something deep rooted and incredibly powerful. And even though the divine power that he had previously exuded was supposedly gone, something else took over completely. Gohan roared from within the depths of his own might, a rippling cascade of lightening bolts snapping and crackling at his frame - his Ki spiking and slamming against an invisible wall inside of himself, threatening to break through.

Lord Beerus raised an eyebrow, as his long ears blew back from the force, when it began to dwindle suddenly, as though the power was being drawn into something else entirely. He smirked in delight, as a vibrant crimson light started to build rapidly beyond the stars, igniting the blackness and causing the atoms around them to quake with anticipation.

"Oh?" The God of Destruction said to himself with a twisted grin, the attack the boy was summoning striking him with a sense of thrilling familiarity, "It looks as though I'll have to use more than my fists to stop this one."

A mighty cyclone threatened engulfed them, as a rabid, gut wrenching force erupted and with it came the _rapture_. The point of the gigantic arrow burst through the dark space-dust that had started to form around it, swirling with an unrelenting amount of deadly crimson Ki. It was so large that it eclipsed at least a quarter of the planet that was bathed in its blood red light below them, and it rose from behind Gohan as he roared, his aura dwindling, reverting back to the first level of super saiyan as his his energy poured into the world-ending attack.

Lord Beerus was ready, another searing ball of Hakai bursting from his palm as he raised it high above his head and bellowed, "THIS IS THE END!"

A jarring spark of vexing energy mounted between them, and then -

" ** _MASS EXTINCTION!_** " Gohan's rasping cry resonated through the entire galaxy, as the massive arrow fired straight towards the awaiting God. It sizzled and crackled with apocalyptic might, its fiery tail lighting up the stars as it went.

The attacks connected as Lord Beerus let go of his own blast, the impact causing the entire universe to groan with the force that threatened to gnaw away at the threads of reality. Violet met crimson in a flash of rippling lightening bolts as they slammed into one another, and for a moment did the teenager think that the arrow was about to pierce the orb of Destruction and actually extinguish it, when it was overwhelmed by it completely.

The split second of hope that swelled in his chest suddenly vanished, as the combined blast doubled, _tripled_ , **_quadrupled_** in size. It shook with the potent force of red and purple energy, churning and hissing with both a divine and equally as deadly of a presence.

It was _colossal_. So big that it was grew just as large as the Earth that it was quickly hurtling towards at nigh incredible speeds.

Gohan failed to stop himself from letting out a rather vulgar swear word, his emerald eyes dancing in the devastating light that towered over the entire planet - and him. Though it could not be heard over the curdling scream of atoms that began to pop and evaporate into nothingness. Clusters of meteorites and the debris left over from Mars' grim fate crumbled into the abyss, eradicating instantly from the sheer heat and pressure that oozed from the cosmic mass. The calamitous winds eradicating everything in its path.

The orb convulsed uncontrollably, crimson daggers of lightening stabbing manically at its edges as though it was trying to tear it apart. As if his and Lord Beerus' blasts were still at war with each other beneath the surface.

The teenager swallowed hard. Well, there was only one thing for it.

With an unrestrained roar, Gohan flung his arms forwards, resuming the same pose that he had tried minutes earlier when he had vainly attempted to put a stop to another one of his predecessor's deadly blasts. Except this time, this one was intermingled with his own annihilative power, and was as big as a planet that was about to collide with the one behind him.

It seemed hopeless, he griped bitterly, grinding his teeth together as his muscle fibres jerked painfully under the staggering strength of the combined attack. But the halfling was all kinds of stubborn, and wasn't about to give up just yet!

"Come on now, Gohan!" He heard Lord Beerus shout over the roar of the mighty winds, the Destroyer God not even making an effort to push the blast forwards, "We both know that you're at your limit!"

"SHUT UP!" Gohan spat back, frantically grasping for more power within himself. Power that he just couldn't seem to find. Power that - was rapidly slipping away.

And no sooner did the words leave his lips, did he drop out of his transformation totally. His hair and eyes reverted back to black. His aura, that had already begun to flicker between violet and gold as he struggled to keep a firm hold of his energy - dissipated.

His entire body was shaking, the disastrous orb reaching the edge of the planet, the young halfling barely holding it back.

 _Damn it!_ He growled inwardly with frustration, he shouldn't have used the _Mass Extinction_! It had drained the very last of his power! And now, it was floating before him in a raging torrent of impending doom before him, about to connect with the Earth and wipe it from existence.

Lord Beerus had won.

He howled in both anger and misery, intermingling with the wail of his home world as it began to teeter and quake. As if it were already mourning its own destruction. He could feel the skin from his hands melting off, his fingers raw as they trembled under the baneful force. It quickly eclipsed him, swallowing him completely as it continued on its lethal path, the sizzling heat ripping at his clothes and flesh, and it felt like a thousand white hot knives were stabbing at every part of him.

" _Keep pushing_."

Gohan snapped open his eyes that had previously been scrunched up in agony. The sound of an incredibly familiar voice reverberating through him as though it was emitting right out of his chest.

" _Keep pushing, son_. _I know you can do it."_

It was his father! He realised in a mixture of shock, relief and confusion. But was he really speaking to him? It didn't feel like it, for there appeared to be no telepathic connection in his mind. Not that he could concentrate fully, what with the abundance of deadly Ki stabbing at his insides.

 _"Damn it boy! Don't give up now! Is that all the power you have?!"_

Another voice, but it wasn't his father's. It sounded like… _Vegeta_?! And the source seemed to be coming from the very core of his being, as though their voices were _somehow_ woven into his soul.

He no longer felt pain, his arms coming to rest by his side, even though the thrash and crash of the pestilent orb continued to bombard him. An odd sense of serenity overcoming him, even though he knew what was at stake.

 _"You can do it, Gohan! Your power is amazing!"_

 _"Are you going to let Mum and Dad just_ ** _die_** _?!"_

The voices kept coming, each one strikingly familiar to him, filling up his chest and constricting the valves in his useless heart as though trying to make it beat. To come… alive.

 _"Please, stay with me."_

Videl…

And then, a soft whimper reached his ears, catching him off guard somewhat until he recognised it as a cry. The unmistakable sound of new life -

 _"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"_

The Super Saiyan God burst back into existence at that very moment, his hair and eyes glowing a vibrant shade of red. It was blinding, all consuming, as Gohan let out a primal scream so loud and unrestrained that it nearly tore apart the heavens in the next dimension.

He was flooded by a gargantuan amount of divine energy, that swirled and encircled him like the rampaging furnace deep within his iris'. The beast _unleashed_ as the young Destroyer bellowed with a massive blaze of fury. Though it was unclear whether or not he noticed that his Godly powers had returned to him in bucket loads, as he was desperate and determined, pulling back a raging fist in the only way he could think of in the midst of the tidal wave of destruction that surrounded him.

 **KA-BOOOOOOOM!**

His frenzied strike connected with the nucleus of the orb, the crux of which detonated with such a catastrophic amount of power that it was a wonder that the whole galaxy didn't vanish along with it.

The space around them went completely white, shrouding the Earth for a split second before everything came back into focus. Golden particles of divine energy dispersed into the air, as a unfurling string of silence spread across the universe.

Gohan gasped, his ears still ringing from the aftershock of the explosion as he floated uselessly above the blue hue of the Earth's atmosphere. His head lulled, barely managing to keep his onyx eyes open, his long ebony hair frazzled and dishevelled from the aftermath, long since fallen out of its messy ponytail. He was completely spent.

Across from him, Lord Beerus' jaw was already on the ground, before he quickly managed to compose himself, shaking his head as he did so. _Well I'll be damned, it looks like telling him that I was going to use my maximum power really did work to draw out his inner strengths._

A rasping cough from the teenager shook him out of his thoughts, blood spilling from the Junior Destroyer's lips, "I-I stopped you."

"Hn, in a way," Lord Beerus stated, floating over to the broken boy who strained to look at him. He was in a lot of pain. "It appears that the God you summoned was a patchwork frame of the power of five saiyans stitched together. And from that, what you've created incidentally is perhaps even better that I could have prophesied. A divine _level_ in fact. It is more than obvious to me now that this is something that you can build upon. Simply stunning to be able to withstand a great amount of my own power, even with the likes of that cowardice Zamasu draining my might and feeding it to Perses."

The God of Destruction observed him carefully. "In that last moment, you summoned that strength again from absorbing that power," he chuckled, giving him a rare half smile, "You're a true prodigy, Gohan. I see now what Whis has been blundering on about for all these years."

A choked laugh escaped the halfling, " _N-Now_ you choose to g-give me a c-compliment?!"

Lord Beerus snorted, "It's the first time you've earned one, brat."

Another spell of silence drifted between them, as Gohan managed to open his eyes fully, the dark orbs boring into his, "A-Are you still g-going to Destroy the Earth?"

He paused, "You've fought well, kid."

With that, he passed out, his breath leaving him, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. What was left of his Ki no longer able to keep him afloat as he tumbled back towards the Earth.

"Oh no _GOHAN_!" Goku cried as Chi-Chi screamed, spotting the teenager bursting through the clouds, the air dispersing, his speed increasing rapidly, dangerously as he went.

The Z-Gang gasped at the mutilated state he was in as he fell, the warriors of Earth readying themselves to catch him when Whis stepped in front of them. With a quick flourish of his staff, Gohan slowed down just as he reached the ship, his back colliding with the soft bouncy platform that had suddenly materialised on the wooden deck.

"GOHAN!" Chi-Chi cried, bolting towards the fallen boy and skidding to her knees as the others raced to his aid.

"Stand back everyone, all is well," Whis chimed, the gem of his sceptre glowing as he swiftly waved it over Gohan's broken body.

In an instant, the young saiyan sat up, blinking the sun out of his eyes as he stared down at his body that was completely healed, though his garb remained in bloodied tatters.

"W-Whis?" He spouted, spotting his mentor firstly, hovering over him, "What happened?"

"You lost that's what happened," Lord Beerus said sharply, landing before him and causing the gang to warily back away, "Rather spectacularly too."

Gohan clenched his fists in anger, readying himself for another fight when the Destroyer yawned loudly, "Now come on, let's go home. There's still much work to be done if we are going to stand any chance of defeating Perses should he escape."

He was floored, what was Lord Beerus saying?

"Oh?" Whis quipped brightly, as if reading his thoughts, "Are you not going to follow through with your promise and Destroy the Earth, my Lord? A Destroyer must always rain his integrity after all, isn't that what you've been telling Gohan?"

"Shut up!" The cat-like God snarled back, "I already _told_ you that I don't want to deal with that stupid brat's whining until my inevitable death so I've changed my mind! Now let's go!"

Whis gave his Lord a look that was almost teasing, but Gohan wasn't paying much attention to the Destroyer's ranting, as the reality that his family and friends were safe from his wrath was almost too startling to process. He had changed his mind, something that was completely unheard of.

But the relief he felt was shortly eclipsed by the rush of agony that stuck him in the chest, threatening to knock him right off his feet. He looked towards his family and friends, who were slowly coming to terms with the fact that they weren't suddenly none existing. Their own panic alleviating, but was replaced by something else entirely.

"Are you even listening to me, boy?!" Lord Beerus shouted towards him, "I said let's go!"

"P-Please, just… j-just give me a minute," he responded quietly, his eyes locking with those striking sapphire ones that shone out from the crowd.

Following his gaze, the Destroyer practically squawked, "Absolutely not! You've caused enough trouble for yourself here - _something_ that we will discuss the consequences of on the way home, along with a strict lecture on how to think with your head and less with your _damned_ \- !"

Gohan ignored him, and everyone else for that matter. Slipping off of the bouncy platform and walking past the others, heading straight for Videl.

"Vi -," he started, making to grasp the hands that had held him so many times, but to his grief, she pulled away.

"Don't," she told him in defiance, though her words trembled, "Don't, Gohan."

"Videl please," he tried again, stepping closer towards her, uncaring that all eyes were upon them, "I'm sorry. I'm so _so_ sorry. I-I didn't mean to lie, and n-now you're…"

He stopped short, his breath heaving, he was fumbling now, "I-I just don't know h-how to make it better. I'm so sorry, I didn't have a choice - "

"Yes you did!" She spat suddenly, nostrils flaring as her voice rose, "There is _always_ a choice Gohan, and you made yours! Just like how you _chose_ to become a-a Destroyer!"

He swallowed thickly, her words stung. Even more so than Lord Beerus' punches. It was evident that she was hurting just as much as he was, though she was trying desperately not to let it show.

"I-I'm not asking you to understand," said Gohan, his fingers reaching for hers once more, longing to feel her touch, "But you knew, you always knew that I had to leave."

"I know _nothing_ about you!" Videl spouted hotly, unable to hold back any longer, the tears spilling from her eyes. Words were flying from her lips before she could even comprehend what she was saying. Though she saw how much those words killed him, the agony she had caused within those haunted onyx eyes too unmistakable to miss.

"You know that I love you," the halfling stated boldly, he could feel the ache burning behind his eyes. And faintly, he could have sworn that he had heard his mother gasp. "And I _know_ that you love me."

She stared back at him, tears still coursing down her flustered cheeks, her long raven hair wavering in the fresh salty breeze.

Slowly and tentatively, he managed to entwine the fingers of her left hand with his, longing to kiss her. _Aching_ to chase her tears away. Wishing nothing more than to rewind the passage of time, retreat back to the confines of her bedroom, underneath the cotton sheets and fall back into her embrace, in where nothing else mattered but just the two of them, the world around them falling away so that only they remained. Where there were no monsters to fight or duties to uphold. Where he could pretend that he could be something better than these broken parts, something better than the fragmented mess that he kept locked deep within himself. Relishing in the fact that this wonderful, amazing girl actually wanted someone like _him_ , when he could give her ten thousand reasons not to.

Yet in reality, it was just a sad invention that he just couldn't let go of. Because here, back on Earth, despite the sacrifices he had made to maintain peace in the universe, he had seen everything he had secretly wanted - everything he wished he'd _had_. And when it was right there in front of him, he couldn't help but pretend that it was true. _Wishing_ that it was true in the sense that he could live some kind of normalcy, and that his family and friends actually accepted him for what he was.

It wasn't all for entirely selfish reasons, for he could see that _they_ needed to believe it to. That despite being dead, that he was doing okay, doing something that every one of them would be proud of. And how could he deny them otherwise? For he could see it in the way his mother's eyes lit up when he told her of all the things he had learned, or how his father would puff out his chest as he marvelled in the strengths that he had achieved.

How could he deny them, when his dreams were haunted by the horrified stares of the Z-Fighters on the edge of that cliff face years ago. When his father and Piccolo had screamed at him to finish the fight with Cell, and he had refused, preferring instead to bring the vile fiend even more suffering than was sorely needed. Revealing the worst of him that had struggled to be contained time and time again when he lost control. He didn't _want_ them to see it. His mistakes. Not again.

And then there was Videl, unknowingly kissing the wounds that he had kept hidden from the rest of the universe. The disasters in his soul now nothing but cracks that she had poured her love into.

Except now, they had reopened. His wounds exposed for everyone to see.

"Please Vi," Gohan said again, his dark eyes pleading with her, "Don't let us end like this."

There was a beat of silence as she regarded him, struggling with herself, before she pulled her hand away and uttered, "J-Just go."

What?! What was she saying?! The young saiyan panicked, her words hitting him like a sickening punch to the gut, her warmth leaving him altogether. Surely she didn't mean it. Surely she didn't actually _want_ him to - ?!

"V-Vi -"

"LEAVE!" She screeched, her clattering scream penetrating through his chest as a rebel wave thrashed unforgivingly against the hull of the ship, causing the cruiser to creak and rock from the force.

The salty spray intermingled with the thick tension in the air, as Gohan felt his heart shatter. It was like a jagged sphere of solid ice had stabbed right through it, confining it to oblivion so that nothing but dust remained.

His mouth ran try, his tongue heavy and twisted. He couldn't speak, as though the girl's venomous tone had just wrenched his voice box from his throat and stamped that out too. Videl's beautiful eyes, that used to gaze at him with love and longing, were blurred by more tears of anger and hatred. There was a spark of desperation that lingered within their sorrowful depths - a loss, as though her light that overshadowed all of the darkness in his world had been snuffed out.

 _He_ had done this.

He stumbled slightly as he backed away, as though he was being pushed by some invisible force. He felt as though his legs were about to buckle underneath him, as Videl's arduous cry continued to ring in his ears.

He found himself almost bumping into his superiors, no longer able to see the girl's despairing gaze as she allowed herself to be pulled into her father's protective embrace, burying her head into his chest as he stroked her hair in a vain attempt to soothe her. Gohan locked eyes with Mister Satan, whose gaze softened ever so slightly before he tore it away again, turning to focus on comforting his daughter.

The young Destroyer sucked in a shaky breath, attempting to force himself to look at his friends and family one last time. Feeling so unbelievably lost that he couldn't even process the fact that the longing in their eyes much resembled his own. For all he could see was more disappointment and anger.

All he ever did was run away, after all. Just like he had done eight long years ago.

"I-I'm sorry," was all he was able to muster, his voice barely a whisper as he heard Whis sigh heavily beside him.

The familiar tap of the sceptre reached his ears, along with the sound of hurried footsteps that suddenly raced towards him. "Gohan WAIT!"

But his mother's desperate cries were lost on him, as the white glow of The Warp gathered around him and he shot into the atmosphere along with Whis and Lord Beerus, hurtling far away from the Earth, and Videl - forever.

* * *

 _7th September, 2019._

* * *

 _A/N: I'm not crying, You're crying._

 _I am so SO excited for the next chapter you guys! This was pretty heavy handed with battle but I really hope you enjoyed it. Also, Im sure you can tell by now that I get a lot of inspo from musicals..._

 _ES x_

* * *

 **Reviews:**

MadmanJrs : Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the swaps and changes. I didnt think it would make sense for Bulma and Vegeta to be the main slapping/beating on Beerus. This is Gohan's story so having his family involved I thought would make a lot more impact. And yay for Pan! Oh these parallels! Its great to see that youre picking up on it xD thank you for your review, hope you liked this chapter!

Joker555888: SSG not permanent as you can see, but I did a very similar take with Goku. Gohan's SSG is MUCH stronger though. And he builds on it a lot differently to how Goku and Vegeta do ;)

pr0dz : Ha yes! Goten and Gohan confrontation is a must!

Naite-Laef: thank you so much :) im glad you liked the emotion! I felt so bad for Gohan writing it as well! When Jaco revealed everything I felt awful for writing it like that! Poor Gohan! Hope you enjoyed the feels in this chapter too! the fact that you tell me that you drop everything to read my story is so amazing. bless you!

hawkeyestratos1996: not sure if ive answered this question before? but no im not including SSJ4. I am following the Super transformations.

o- Nyx -o: YAAAAAAAAY!

Aaron Leach: thank you!

Pie 555: ah! the FEELS! Yes I could totally see a civil war between piccolo vegeta and the others! yikes! they get it though, and really, the others do too. but it just took a bit longer for them to get over it. Yes Goten and Gohan have a long way to go before there are cuddles involved! sob! Videl is really emotional right now. She follows her original character in the fact that she despises being lied to or kept in the dark. But I really am trying to get across that Videl is struggling at the mo. I mean, shes a 19 year old girl, just found out that shes pregnant by a dead guy whose got to leave IMMEDIATELY but also who has wiped countless lives from existance. Thats a lot to process. So I can understand her anger/frustration here, even though it is misplaced. Poor Gohan, his heart is broken :( and Goku is very self righteous like vegeta said. Goku still sees his little boy that struggled to unleash his power when they were all getting beat up by mini Cells, not this man who Jaco describes as murdering entire planets cuz he feels like it. ya know? really hoped you liked this chapter and thanks for the review as always! :)

KeynoRules : teehee glad you enjoyed it! Glad you pointed out the Hercule anger haha. Hope youre well! and hope you enjoyed the chapter! Yes totally agree with Goten not quite understanding, hes only a kid after all and this supposedly 'amazing' older brother burst into his life and took over - in his eyes.

777torn777: thanks so much! Yes I agree they should have done more with Goten in the series. But he will become more prominent here ;)

reeseisthatbeast : he kicked his ass to an extent! xD

ashlovesdbz : glad you loved it! Damn it Jaco! yes Videl being pregnant makes everything so much more complicated now!

devilzxknight86: im sure Gohan felt the same way!

keyblademeister88: thank you very much! glad you liked the Raditz flashback. I thought that it was a defining moment in DBZ for Gohan. Certainly something that would catch Whis' eye. I liked the idea that he would have been watching Gohan for a while.

Hek'UnnSkipper: thanks for the review! Im sure you liked the outcome of the fight given your last review! haha. really appreciate you coming back to this especially when youre not a fan of the pairing! thank you :)

Patachu : agreed! your reveiw made me chuckle!

: very true, like beerus said in this chapter, it would take time for gohan to reach the form on his own!oh and the punishment is a comin!

ericsofly2: thank you very much!

diction135 : YESSS you got it with the goading! Beerus knows exactly just what buttons of Gohan's to push!

SSJViper: WOW! Thank you so much for that wonderful review! It made me feel all fuzzy inside! IT WILL CONTINUE!

RabbitMelody : hehe yes Goten is getting a lot of stick right now! But he will have his redemption :) as will every one else and there will be a much further exploration as to everyones feelings in upcoming chapters. hope you enjoyed chapter 24!

Urazz: technically ;)

Midfield Maestro: not that easy im afraid!

Whynot: SUSPENSE! glad you enjoyed it! xD

romanovascap: yes Gohan needs to have the God Ki 100%. at this point it wouldnt make sense for it to be anyone else but him, mainly cuz hes the one training to become the god and also the main focus. Everyone will have their moments to shine I promise you that! :) glad you enjoyed!

Iwik: hehe! glad you liked the party pooper line! its actually what whis says to vegeta in the original! there is a lot of dialogue I plucked within these last couple of chapters with some of my own changes. It is very similar to the plot in the case of the SSG transformation in that regard so it had to be done! BLOODY JACO! I know, i dislike him so much in this story right now hahaha. Yes everyone is struggling to come to terms with the fact that gohan refrained from telling them the truth, the fact of what he is and what that means, and also that he needs to leave again. its a lot to process, but i will explore moreon this the next few chappys! Glad you liked ballsy chichi! YES she is like a LIONESS when it comes to her babies! LOVE HER! I hate when people give her so much stick. she is such a badass! Goten is incredibly different. Ive seen a few fics when gohan comes back and he is basically the same person, but i think that being a little kid and an only child and people talking about your dead bro all your life for him to suddenly come back into it is very jarring! so happy you enjoyed the humour! eager to see what you thought of this chapter! :)

TheRangerBoy: haha too easy!

fated1990: yay glad you like the supreme guard so much! thank you! :) you will see more of them next chapter ;) there is a lot of relationship fixing to go. But first it certainly has to break before it can be fixed. Poor Gohan.

DD: REDEMPTION!

Vegetasniece: thank you so much! really glad you enjoyed it :)

Marbbles123 :YAY! Thank you so much for the kind words! Yes Goten deffo has Goku vibes, standing up for what is right, but his relationship with his big bro is so awful that it even shocks Goku and Chi-Chi a little! Oh I cant wait for upcoming chapters! Glad you liked the reveal and idiotic Jaco! And yes you got it, Goku was more hurt by the fact that Gohan couldnt tell him! so sad! Gohan is really really not having a good day... especially by the end of this chapter! really hope you enjoyed it! your review made me so happy! thank you!

Declan Campbell: Goten is so angry right now, its very hard to process for the kid!

FireEmblemMaster101: Thanks for your review! and absoloutely agree with all of your points! Gohan is in some real trouble now with a pregnant Videl. Cannot wait to share the next chapter with you!

super mystic gohan: thanks so much for your review, glad youre enjoying the journey!

kd940 : thank you!

BladeKnightmare: sorry, Videl is not going to become a goddess/angel/live with Gohan. It would be way too easy, and rules are rules! One GoD for each universe.

X3runner: Agreed, I want SSG to remain substantial, just like SSJ. I dont want it to become a crutch or a 'go to' you know? It needs to be prominent, which is why ive tried to work so much out in this chapter and explain it much like the show. I dont think im gonna go down the heros or xenoverse route, mainly cuz ive got enough characters to work with and dont think they'll fit at this point! im glad you enjoyed the chapter!

dx-1118: thank you so much for your review! and yes glad you got the Chi-Chi slap! I could see it totally happening in the original! so happy you enjoyed it!

ARandomGuest : ahhh thank you so much! your reveiw made me BEAM!

Knightwing20042: haha thank you! sometimes I wish I could get one and finish writing it. but im having so much fun doing it I dont thin kid know what to do with myself when its finished!

Wiggly: thank you very much! I understand your concerns into Gohan focussing on videl and Pan now, but as you can see from this chapter, Gohan has gotta go back to his duty! there will be heartbreak oh yes, but the main focus of this story i aim to be honed in on Gohan's fight, not only with Perses and Zamasu, but with himself and his growth. Videl and Pan just fit into the mix very nicely!

Liltye504 : Nope sorry, Gohan gotta do his duty! But you'll have to find out what happens in later chapters! :)

x2leoj : thank you so much, glad you liked the emotion! yes, beerus ended Gohan very well haha

Zaraki6 chapter 1: I like the cannon pairing of Gohan/Videl so yep :)

Entropic Horizon : at this point I felt that a lot of it they were stunned for, and didnt know the words to say. I didnt want it to turn out into an all out argument, so Ive focussed with Goku's feelings on this chapter and will continue to explore it as we go on :) There was a lot to throw at you readers at once I felt which is why I wrote it the way I did :)

Guest : yaaaay 1000 reveiws thank you for the love!

jrayeni: wow thank you so much you made my whole month! and im so glad that you liked the dramatics of the transformation, I tried to follow the show as closely as possible, just because I needed to keep the 'base' so to speak of the ritual exactly the same for every saiyan, which can be built upon later. and doy! the magenta I think was a typo. SSG Gohan hair is red!

Thomas-The-TMC : why thank you!

chris2828 :haha! o dear, Goten is really getting some hate!

Phenexgrave: thank you so much, thats very kind of you to say so!

antipodean: aww thank you! wow you had a lot to catch up on since december! haha thanks for your review, hope you keep coming back!

mubaarik4858: thank you so much! and no problem at all with the long reveiws! thank you for sharing your ideas! I have a lot in mind with upcoming battles so stay tuned :)

zarkan : thanks!

tacktician: very true with the prophecies peicing it all together. But Beerus and Whis are peeved because it is against the law, if there werent laws then there would be a TON of demi-gods running around the universe and that could only spell trouble.

Kalpatru: i think you may have missed the concept of Gohans character here... but no worries. this story isnt for everyone (y)

romeroFan: wow thank you so much for the wonderful words! really happy you enjoyed the chapter and hope you continue to do so! Videl is very headstrong must like Gohan, and like Goku she is hurt that he kept the truth from her. but she is frantic and angry and just found out that she is preggo by a dead dude so theres a lot of emotion here, so a lot of the things she is saying, she doesnt necessarily mean. but still, it still really hurts poor Gohan. :(yes chichi! glad you liked her reaction too! Ooh and as for zamasu's whereabouts... I cant reveal, but that is an extremely good guess! Its not it, but it is good! As for Perses, its not the void that is helping him, but Gohan and the gang are in store for something much MUCH worse! and yes to the second review, Gohan wouldnt have acheived this form without having Pan! At least not quick enough!

Visionless1: wow! thank you so much for your review! that is so amazing and heartwarming to read! I would absolutely LOVE and be honoured to read your story, it sounds amazing! And a brilliant take on Gohan! Also so interesting because itll be entirely based on your imagination. I would be humbled to read it! :)

midgetman18: dont worry it lives on!

Erin: thanks so much for your review of both chapters! really glad you enjoyed it and similarly LOL'd at Jaco! Yess to the characters being exposed with their clothes! LITERALLY ;) I hoped you enjoyed that part! teehee. and yamcha's nice line too, I really like to think of Krillin and Yamcha as Gohan's proud uncles, whilst Vegeta is just the one that is both annoyed and exasperated by him. Glad you enjoyed the previous fight scene. Im sorry you didnt enjoy the lagoon at the end of chapter 22 - I really wanted to show that Gohan and Videl couldnt keep their hands off each other so yes you are right there! But also it was more to focus on the fact that Gohan wants to tell her that he loves her but she begs him not to say - which makes it more prominent in THIS chapter as it is the first time he tells her that he loves her :( OH THE FEELS. but yes also fan service, mostly for my dirty mind, so yes you could argue it was a bit of both haha! Also, not sure what you mean by kalpatru? I may be being silly, it is late whilst I am replying to this haha

JAIMOL : thank you !

JdbsjakfbskXbcb : please see authors note! (y)

Guest : atm I dont plan on a sequeal. but bonus chapters are always in the mix!

Guest chapter 14: thanks for your review! yes as you go on through the story you will see the reasoning for Gohan not telling them. And also, the mother son vibes are wholesome when you get to it dont worry! :)


	25. The Devil's Due

_**A/N:** Hello all you wonderful readers! You are not seeing things, this is indeed a brand new chapter of SGTD! Woah what a crazy month and a half it has been. I have to admit that I wrote the first part of this chapter not long after I finished the last one, but its taken me so long to finish it! Ive been busy with starting my Masters degree as mentioned in the last authors note, but as well as that I have suffered a big knee injury which requires surgery, which I haven't got a date for yet! However, silver lining... whilst I am off work it'll hopefully give me chance to put out these next few chapters a lot quicker! I say hopefully, as we are really in the thick of the story now, and things are going to heat up considerably. I do apologise for the long time between updates, but I just want to get this right 100%. _

_Now, this chapter is a little bit different to what I have written before, but I really hope you enjoy it and get a few laughs out of it. Special thanks to Nyx and Chosen To Die for helping me through the last couple of months and proof reading parts of this chapter to keep me sane! I hope you laugh as much as they did! It has turned out as a bit of a calmer of a chapter, but things are going to heat up - significantly in the next few chapters. So get ready!_

 _I just wanted to point out how grateful I am for the love you show for this story of mine. As I am sure a few of you have noticed that I have recently been accused by a persistent troll of plagiarism and_ _racism - something which I hope you will agree is completely untrue. But I wont let it get me down and will continue with the story to the end, and I have blocked and reported this person so hopefully that'll be the end of it! To everyone that has supported me thus far, a sincere thank you to you all. This chapter is a little shorter than my more recent ones, but it felt like a good place to end it in preparation for the next instalment - which I am SUPER excited about. It is all planned, just needs writing so hopefully wont be too long!_

 _Thank you again for your patience, you all rock!_

 _ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Five**

 **The Devil's Due**

 **xxxx**

 **The Grand Plaza, East City. August, Age 775.**

Erasa had always stood by the notion that the best way to get over a man is to get under a new one.

It was a bold yet pretty solid assumption by all accounts, and Videl had to hand it to her best friend that it had its perks. Granted, she had only done the rebound thing once during a particularly messy breakup not long after high school, and whilst it had given her a much needed thrill of satisfaction and revenge points, it was only a temporary fix.

It certainly wasn't something that she took into consideration on a regular basis, nor was it her idea to even embark on _this_ particular venture.

"In all honesty, I didn't think you'd call back after last time. Though I must say that I'm not surprised."

Videl's nose wrinkled in annoyance, as her date ran a hand through his floppy blonde hair, flashing his brilliant white teeth that looked as though they had recently been bleached. This small yet over-confident manoeuvre caught the attention of a gaggle of waitresses over by the bar, who let out an audible swoon at the sight.

She looked down, barely managing to hide the roll of her eyes as she tugged on the tight body-con dress that barley reach her knees. The deep scarlet fabric was a startling contrast to her long ebony hair that fell into perfect waves reaching her waist.

What had even possessed her to go along with this nonsense?

In all fairness, she had to agree with Sharpener and Erasa in the fact that she should probably have a little respite from work. She had done nothing _but_ work since -

Well…

It wasn't all bad. Videl had readily volunteered herself for extra duties, including working overtime and even helping out the newbies with their paperwork. In actual fact, she had never had so much _energy_ before, and she could only attribute it to the tiny little life growing inside of her. That, and… _the hunger_. The insatiable appetite that had struck her completely unawares about a month ago, in turn causing her food bill to increase exponentially, and made both Erasa and Sharpener marvel at how much she could pack away earlier that afternoon when they had ordered pizza.

They hadn't been to see her for a while, mainly because she kept making up excuses or busying herself with police work. Though her best friends could be just as persistent as she was, and had threatened to actually break down her door if she didn't let them in. Still, she refused to believe that she was hiding away as they had insisted, and similarly shoot down their claims that she was in denial about the whole baby situation.

She had told them of course, even though she was still in the midsts of trying to process it herself. Though she had told a white lie in regards to who the father was, informing them that it was in fact 'Beerus'. The young man she had helped to try and get his memories back, but who had swiftly flown the coop when she had found out she was expecting. It wasn't _entirely_ untrue. Now, her best friends were quite accustomed to the fact that she could use Ki and fly, and similarly knew of her training with the world renowned martial artist Son Goku. Though if she had told them that she was _actually_ pregnant by his dead son who had left for another dimension to go and become a God and save the multiverse from impending doom - well, she was pretty certain that they would question her sanity.

She wasn't in _total_ denial, she just tried not to think about it too much. At ten weeks, she had yet to start showing, her toned abdomen still flat and smooth - which helped ease her mind somewhat. She had done a little research, taking vitamins and eating the right things, even though she had yet to make an appointment with her doctor or a midwife. She wasn't quite sure how to go about it either. The little imp was part Saiyan after all - a demigod even. Thoughts had crossed her mind of it coming out glowing golden, or heaven forbid _blasting_ its way out. How would she even **_begin_** to explain that one?

Videl sighed, tapping her fingernails irritably on her glass of water as her date continued to spout about how amazing it was for _her_ to be on a date with _him_. He had done nothing but talk about himself since she had sat down, the only words she had managed to offer were the occasional ' _Wow.' 'Fascinating'. 'Good for you.'_ \- and other stupid pleasantries that she had forced herself to recite just to keep her promise to Erasa and Sharpener.

Though she was failing to keep up her pretences, her cheeks aching considerably from forcing a sweet smile and her voice drawling out in a bored monotone. Unfortunately for her, the egotistical young man didn't appear to notice in the slightest. Her sapphire eyes glared at the offending glass in front of her, the melting ice cubes much resembling her rapidly fading patience. She could _really_ do with a stiffer drink if she was going to get through this.

Her friends were only trying to help, she reasoned, and although she appreciated the sentiment, she couldn't help but think that they had been so far off the mark that they had ended up on the other side of the planet. Their suggestion of her 'letting loose' for the night was welcomed, but the idea that it included going out on a date was downright ludicrous. She was pregnant with another man's child for goodness sake! Shouldn't she be 'nesting' or some shit?!

 _"You're pregnant, not dead!"_ Erasa had scoffed in her face when she had told her as such, before Sharpener had 'wisely' stated that she should afford herself one last 'wild ride' before she had to push a watermelon out of her hoo-hah and it would never look the same again.

That boy really had a way with words…

Watermelons aside, Videl knew that the only way she could stop the pair from pestering her was to relent to this madness. She had to admit that it _was_ nice to get out of the apartment for something other than work, the summer night air pleasantly cool against her skin as she had flown towards East City. It was too bad that she was stuck in a stuffy, upperclass restaurant instead of finding a beautiful spot by a lake and look out at the myriad of stars that lay high above the mountains -

She had shook her head out of _those_ particular thoughts, ridding herself of the image of that kind, charming smile and those dark, lustful eyes that threatened to invade her mind. She had to concentrate after all, and confine herself to a night boring of background piano music and overpriced food.

It wasn't as though she wasn't accustomed to being waited on underneath dazzling chandeliers, nor used to the amount of shiny silverware upon the table that each had their own particular use for each individual dish. Far from it. Her father had once relished in all the glory that came with being the World Martial Arts Champion after all, and still did on occasion. Though due to expanding her horizons over the past year and a half, she couldn't help but find contentment in more humble comforts now.

The Grand Plaza was one of the most top-rated and most expensive restaurants in East City. A high rise building that doubled up as a hotel, with the restaurant nestled at the very top, and a view that looked out over the entire city. It was made up of pristine marble bricks and gigantic windows that spanned the upper floor. It was so high-end that it even had two doormen either side of the large oak doorway, with a red carpet that ran the length of the corridor, leading to the swanky hotel on the lower floors.

Such a grand entrance did not faze Videl, she was a Satan after all. But that didn't stop the coiling sickness of dread that had wound suddenly in the pit of her stomach at the sight of her date already waiting for her at one of the candlelit tables. His beaming smile held all the traits of a man who thought he was going to get lucky. And the girl nearly ran hightail right out of there, when the image of her best friends wide, puppy eyed stare had drifted into her mind.

 _"We're just so worried about you," Erasa sniffed, her eyes watering as she pleaded with her, "Just one date! You've_ ** _got_** _to get out of this apartment before you suffocate. Get it out of your system!"_

 _"Yeah," chimed Sharpener, wiggling his eyebrows, "And I understand your feelings on the bloke but he seems up for it! Take my advice, once the lights are turned off you can pretend it's whoever you like! At the end of the day, it's not his personality you'll be f-"_

 _Before Videl could offer her own angry and rather disgusted retort, did Erasa cut her off again, "We just want you to get back to your old self Videl. Please, if not for us, do it for yourself?"_

Damn her soft heart, as due to it, she had relented. They had known each other since they were little kids after all, and she knew that they were just trying to look out for her. Be that as it may, she was certainly _not_ going to take Sharpener's advice, but maybe one tiny date wouldn't hurt. They were her best friends, and she loved them just as much as they did -

"It's like they say," the young man across from her chuckled again, breaking her out of her thoughts as he gave her a suggestive wink, "Once you go Barry, the girls don't dilly-dally, and come swarming back to the B-Hive."

She was going to kill them both.

She was going to gut them to within an inch of their lives and string them up by their entrails, checking herself into a mental asylum shortly afterwards because clearly she must have a screw loose to even consider going along with this _ridiculous_ plan.

It was sad, in a way. Because Videl _knew_ that she wasn't this desperate, having not wanted to go along with this in the first place. Even still, the fact that the only eligible bachelor she knew who would drop everything to be with her last minute, and on a Saturday night in the middle of summer, was _this_ wanker.

Barry Khan. Actor, singer, dancer, model, playboy and self-proclaimed philanthropist. Dug up deep from within the shameful dregs of her previous dating record, and quite possibly the most insufferable twit she had ever had the misfortune to meet.

A teenage heartthrob even though he was now twenty-two, and insanely wealthy - something that he had no qualms about flaunting. They had only dated for a few weeks just before the Twenty-Fourth World Martial Arts Tournament, until Videl had ended it after realising what a gigantic arsehole he was, and realising that he had first only started to date her to secure a contract deal with her father for a film that he was producing and starring in. At the time, with Mister Satan being the reigning world champ, it would have sent box office sales through the roof. As well as Barry's ever expanding ego.

Though no matter how much he had pleaded with her to take him back, and despite the elaborate gifts (one that included her own private jet) she had refused to give in to the spoilt little rich boy. Specifically one who thought he was doing the universe a favour by simply _existing_.

Yet here he was in front of her, gazing at her with those sparkling baby blue eyes that enchanted a whole host of naive girls, occasionally pausing in his abhorrent gushing over himself to reapply some of the organic raspberry lip balm that he kept in his man purse. Videl pushed down the scoff that fought to escape her, as she watched him smooth it over his lips for the fifth time that evening. She was privy to his moves after all, knowing all too well how the gesture not only drew her attention to his lips, but also how it made them look soft and subtle - irresistible to kiss even, if you looked past the fact that they were attached to his gaping pit of a mouth.

She really _despised_ raspberries.

He was more of an idiot than she realised if he thought _that_ was going to entice her. Even so, it had been a while since she had seen him, and therefore she wasn't entirely sure whether this 'B-Hive' he was referring to was his penthouse suite in upper East City or his penis. Either or, it was enough to make her shudder.

"Cold, Viddy?"

She looked up at that moment, the horrid pet name sounding like nails screeching on a chalkboard. That pompous smile of his unwavering, though she couldn't help but feel a twisted feeling of satisfaction as she stared at his face, noticing how his nose was a little off centre, reminding her all too well of their last meeting, in which her fist had impacted quite harshly with his face.

"A little," she said with a smile, the young man mistaking the sadistic implications for sweetness, "I think it's the air-conditioning."

"Well don't worry," said Barry cockily, flashing her his brilliant white teeth, "Things will be sure to _heat up_ soon enough."

"Kami above," she groaned without thinking and catching him off guard, though she quickly covered her tracks, "I mean er, I'm starving! Where's that waiter got to?"

"You just leave everything to Barry, gorgeous," he winked, and she could have sworn that she was just sick in her mouth. How could she have forgotten just how much he referred to himself in the third person?!

"Oh waiter! Waiter!" He called loudly, clicking his fingers rudely at a young man who was setting down another customer's meal about three tables away, his sudden exclamation drawing the attention of several patrons and prompting Videl to sink into her seat out of embarrassment.

"Yes Monsieur Khan?" The head waiter bustled over quickly, defusing the situation and saving the younger boy from the actor's wrath. He had dark hair and a pencil moustache, his thick accent reverberating around them as he smiled, "What can I do for you - ?"

"The service here is terrible," stated Barry, cutting the man short, "My date and I would like to order, and we have been kept waiting for over five minutes after one of your staff brought us breadsticks."

"O-Oh! I am so sorry Monsieur Khan," he began to explain, "It eez very busy tonight and - "

"Did I _ask_ for your life story, Gaston?" Barry interrupted, as the poor man - whose name was certainly not Gaston, began to sweat, "Now hurry up and take our order, Ms Satan and I have a _long_ night ahead of us."

 _You're telling me,_ Videl thought bitterly, rolling her eyes behind the waiter's back.

"O-Of course!" He blundered, fumbling with his notepad before looking towards them, "Eet would be my pleasure! What can I get you?"

"I'll have the deconstructed salad, but hold the dressing," the actor started first, tossing him the menu so that he nearly dropped the pad, "And _do_ make sure that the tomatoes are organic this time, I trust you don't want to get another one of your chefs fired for upsetting my sensitive stomach."

Gods she wanted to throttle the self-important git. But she had promised Erasa and Sharpener that she would at least _try_ and get through the meal. That, and she was so hungry that she could eat a whole dinosaur.

She offered the flustered man an apologetic smile that she hoped would sooth him. It seemed to work somewhat, as the waiter gave her a pleasant grin back, readying his pen as she gazed longingly at the menu - her mouth already watering, "And for ze lady?"

"I'll have the triple burger stack please, with a side of loaded fries, and tell the chef to not hold back on the cheese," she started, as the waiter hurriedly started scribbling, "Two sides of onion rings, a t-bone steak - well done I guess, with extra sauce, extra onions. Actually, could you do an extra steak just to be safe? Oh and could you throw in a plate of that linguine special too?" With that, Videl passed the astonished waiter the menu, who nervously opened his mouth to speak.

"Er Madame, this eez quite a lot of -" He stopped short however, as her piercing gaze stared him out. For but a moment, the waiter looked as though she was about to rip him to shreds like some sort of wild beast - should he deny her.

With a loud gulp, he turned back towards Barry, "And er, can I get you a bottle of wine for ze table? On ze house of course, for ze trouble."

"That would be excellent," the blonde-haired buffoon replied, "A bottle of your finest champagne would be suitable."

His cheeks reddened, a bead of sweat trailing down his brow, as Videl cut across them, "Just water for me, thanks. I'm not drinking."

Barry raised an eyebrow at her, though she ignored him, and added kindly, "And could you bring us the dessert menu on your way back with our drinks, please?"

The waiter nodded wordlessly before bustling off, leaving her with her rather perplexed date.

"Thanks!" The girl called after him, before noticing that Barry's mouth was unhinged, "What?"

"W-Well," he started, finally able to pick his jaw up off of the table, "It's just that was quite a big order."

Videl brushed him off swiftly, "It's part of my new training regime, I have to eat a lot of calories to keep my body going throughout the day." _Well, it wasn't exactly untrue._

"Is that so?" Barry observed, his blue eyes raking across her body, "That explains the not drinking. Though, I must say, it's paying off. When you first walked in here, I thought that you'd gotten a boob job. They're definitely bigger since the last time I saw them."

" _Excuse you_?!" She growled, suddenly offended and covering herself by folding her arms across her chest.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," he chuckled, misplacing her anger completely, "Barry could refer you to his surgeon if you wanted them even bigger. It's like Barry always says, there is always room for improvement."

"No thanks," she replied haughtily, refusing to pull her arms away from herself. And would he _stop_ referring to himself in the third person already?!

"Aw don't be a spoil sport, Viddy," Barry laughed smugly, "He does GREAT work! After all, Barry has had his nose done twice."

 _Yeah, only because I ended up breaking it so bad that it didn't even look like a nose any more,_ she thought, still seething from his crude remarks.

Though in a matter of seconds, he was off again, oblivious to the girl's rising temper as he recounted another one of his 'captivating' on-set stories. Videl sighed heavily, placing one elbow on the edge of the table and resting her chin in her hand, trying to coax herself down from firing a _Kamehameha_ up his arse.

The food was taking an _age_ to come out, given it was a busy Saturday night in the middle of the large city, and now customers were starting to queue out of the door waiting to be seated. Her mind slowly began to drift, as Barry's voice continued to drawl in her ears, the resounding laughter at his own jokes echoing unpleasantly in her eardrums.

What did she ever see in Barry anyway? She started to ponder, her eyes wandering to his floppy blonde hair and lean physique. He certainly wasn't her type after all -

" _They really don't seem like your type," he had smirked, his warm breath tickling her lips as he lingered above her, his muscular arms holding himself upright._

 _"How do_ ** _you_** _know what my type is, wonder boy?" she had replied teasingly, quirking an eyebrow at him._

 _He grinned wickedly back at her, a smile so cheeky yet so charming all at the same time. His dark eyes seemed to sparkle as he gazed back at her, before gesturing to their nudity beneath the sheets, "Well, if this is any indication."_

 _She couldn't help the laugh that bubbled from within her chest, her heart already pounding as his naked, rock hard body pushed a little further in between her -_

Damn it Videl! She inwardly screamed in alarm, snapping herself out of it. She should _not_ be having thoughts like that, not on a date with someone else, no matter how much of a prick they were. And she especially should not be having such thoughts about _him_.

 _Bloody hormones_ , she growled to herself, feeling hot and bothered all of a sudden, picking up the dessert menu the waiter had dropped off and fanning herself with it. Luckily, Barry remained unawares to her heated blush. Instead pouring them both a glass of champagne over his chatter even though she had told him that she hadn't wanted any.

Feeling a little cooler, the Satan girl placed down the thin leather bound booklet, making to brush a hand through her hair to keep it from sticking to her clammy forehead when -

 **"Daydreaming again?"**

Videl scowled, shooting daggers in the voice's direction. The sudden appearance of the strangely dressed young man at the table going unnoticed by the occupants of the restaurant - save her, because it was all too clear that the halfling was just an object of her imagination. Great galaxies, she was hallucinating. Maybe she really _did_ need to check herself in at the mental institute.

"Get lost, will you?" she told him, though whether she had said it in her mind or out loud she was unclear of. However, she was betting on the former, as Barry didn't seem to pause in his ramblings. "I know that you're not real."

 **"Rude,"** said the ghostly depiction. Though he appeared amused, flashing her that heart-stopping smile of his that made her go weak at the knees, **"But just because I'm in your head doesn't mean that it's not real."**

"Oh shut up," Videl hissed, her eyes darting around the room, though nobody seemed to notice that she was talking to herself, "I said get lost. I don't want you in my head!"

The Gohan hallucination quirked an eyebrow, **" _Really_ now? Because that's not what your thoughts tell you. Just a second ago you were thinking about me and my Godly, naked, rock hard -"**

" _Stop it!"_ She growled, her cheeks burning. Although now she was certain that this image of him was a depiction of her mind. The Gohan she knew had gained a lot more confidence since the first time she had seen him naked, but _never_ would he refer to himself of having a Godly, rock hard _anything_.

 **"Stop?"** Ghost Gohan quirked, wriggling his eyebrows, **"That's odd. Usually I'm used to hearing you begging me to do the opposite."**

Damn her dirty mind straight to HFIL!

"Will you just piss off already?" Videl spat, "I am _not_ in the mood to deal with you right now!"

 **"Oh? And you're in the mood to deal with _him_?" **He said pointedly, inclining his head towards the opposite end of the table, **"Talk about a downgrade."**

"Shut up!" She snapped again, fuming, "This is _my_ date and you are NOT going to ruin it for me."

 **"Yeah because it seems like you're having a fantastic time so far,"** he mused sarcastically, leaning back on his ghostly chair and folding his arms behind his head, propping his boots up on the table, **"You picked a real gem there, by the way."**

Videl scoffed, "You don't even know him."

 **"It's a good job too, he seems like a right self-absorbed idiot."**

"No he's - !" She started to protest, though she was unsure as to why she was being so defensive all of a sudden. She stopped short however, following Gohan's cryptic gaze as Barry was quite obviously Insta-gramming a picture of his salad.

 _Just when did the food get here anyway?!_

"Hashtag, abs for August," Barry winked over the table, catching her staring, "Am I right?"

Ghost Gohan snorted, as Videl relented, "Okay fine, he's a massive prick and this was an extremely bad idea. But _you_ shouldn't be here!"

 **"It's not like I can help it! _You're_ the one who can't stop thinking about me!" **He spouted, before the suggestive look was back full force, **"Or all those late, dark nights we shared together. Remember when we went skinny dipping in the lake and I did that thing with my tongue that made you -"**

"ARGH!" Videl cried, picking up a nearby breadstick and throwing it right at his stupid head, which he easily evaded.

"Er, Viddy?" Barry's voice cut through the air, "Should Barry be concerned?"

She stopped short, her breath heaving as he stared unblinkingly back at her. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, as she realised that her date and a few surrounding tables had seen her scream and lob a breadstick at thin air for no apparent reason.

"I-I saw a fly," she stammered, brushing her now tousled hair away from her face, "A _really_ annoying one _._ It's gone now."

Barry frowned in bewilderment, though the girl didn't give him a chance to reply, as she settled herself back down and rested her cheeks in her hands, giving him a sweet smile, "You were saying?"

 **"Pfft, what a tosser."**

Videl whirled around, ready to give the stupid ghost a piece of her mind when -

"WHEN DID YOU TAKE YOUR TOP OFF?!"

Her sudden screech caught the attention of the entire restaurant, the background music cutting out abruptly as the pianist stopped playing. Her outburst caught Barry completely off guard as he nearly fell out of his chair in fright.

"I-I didn't," Barry stated, looking down at himself and back to her as though she had just grown another head.

Though Videl's gaze wasn't focussed on Barry. Instead, it was fixated upon the adonis standing before her. That chiseled chest and rippling abs, the smooth scars that embellished the warm skin that she had kissed so many times. The fine line of dark hair that ran from his belly button, and right down to his -

 **"Don't look at me,"** Gohan griped, running his calloused fingers through that wild spikey mane of hair that had _somehow_ fallen out of its bond, **"This is _your_ hallucination."**

"Viddy baby," Barry said again with a devilish smirk, causing her to snap her head towards him once more, "If you wanted Barry to take his top off, all you needed to do is ask."

"No!" She flapped, gulping down the hard lump that had appeared in her throat, her face burning bright crimson as she realised that all eyes were still upon her, "Don't do that. _Please_ don't to that."

"I-It's just a little warm in here now," she continued breathlessly, trying to pull herself together, as her date looked on confused, "I'm just gonna… go t-to the bathroom. Excuse me for a moment."

With that she bolted from the table, past the flabbergasted onlookers and towards the ladies restroom. She barely heard Barry call after her about some stupid Instagram post as she slammed the toilet door shut behind her and slid down the wall with a shaky outlet of breath.

Luckily, there was no one else in there to watch her mini-meltdown, and after a few minutes of sitting on the cool tiles of the bathroom floor did she manage to pick herself up and splash some cold water on her cheeks from the sink - careful not to smudge her mascara.

 **Ping!**

Suddenly, her phone buzzed and pinged in her clutch, and she let out an audible groan at the notification.

 _BarryKhanOfficial has tagged you in a post!_

Sighing, she tapped the screen, rolling her eyes at the heavily filtered picture of his garden salad - she could just about make out her elbow in the corner of the shot. Not that she minded, as she really didn't want to be associated with the git.

It got worse very quickly, as she noticed the description he had written:

 _Hitting the town hard with this one! Videl666 *smiley face emoji* *smiley face emoji* *love heart emoji* *love heart emoji* *cocktail emoji* *wine emoji* *cocktail emoji* *dancing lady emoji* *love heart emoji* *devil emoji* *eggplant emoji* *eggplant emoji* *squirting water emoji* *squirting water emoji* *squirting water emoji* #abs4august #bae #organic #planetlyf #B-Hive #barrykhan #therealbarrykhan_

For Kami's sake, who hashtags themselves?! She growled, whilst snarling at the eggplant emoji.

Gross.

 **Ping!**

She frowned as her phone sounded again. Her eyes widened, uh oh.

 _TitanBandit69 liked a post you were tagged in!_

 _TitanBandit69 commented on a post you were tagged in!_

 _TitanBandit69 commented: ? *sad face emoji* *broken heart emoji*_

 **Ping!**

 _Text message from Bulma Briefs: Just had a text from Yamcha. U ok? B xxxxxxx_

Fan-fucking-tastic. Now she had more people to judge her, and not just the hallucinations in her damned mind. If only Yamcha wasn't a such social media queen, she may have just gotten away with that one.

Forcing down the urge to message her friend back and beg her to save her from this nightmare of a date. The Satan girl swallowed her pride, switching off her phone entirely and shoving it back in her bag. Giving her reflection a stern once over and with fresh determination in her eyes, Videl spun on her heel and returned to the dining room.

She was relieved to find that the 'ghost of Gohan' had completely disappeared when she sat back down, attempting to give Barry a charming smile, "Where were we?"

As predicted, her date didn't even ask her if she was okay before launching into his story again. It was just as well, as it allowed her to tuck into the glorious feast in front of her. It was still warm, thank goodness, though she didn't think it mattered at this point, as she was so hungry that she could have inhaled just about anything put in front of her.

Videl was so focussed on trying to mind her manners and not plough into the meal like a deranged beast, she barely registered what Barry was saying. She couldn't help but feel a little bad for all the times she had shown her disgust towards the Saiyans eating habits, because if _this_ is what they felt at every meal time then she was amazed by their restraint to not pick up the entire table and just dump their dinner into their awaiting mouths - plates and all.

" - so what do you think?"

Oh shit, was he talking to her?

Videl looked up, forcing down the large mouthful of pasta that nearly got stuck in her throat, "Sorry, I zoned out for a moment there, what were you saying?"

Barry's smile faltered as he grimaced at the sight of the meat juices that had dripped down her chin, along with the bits of cheese that had gotten stuck to her cheeks.

"Um, I was talking about my upcoming movie."

"Oh?" She quirked, wiping her mouth hurriedly with her napkin, "Sorry. What did you say it was about?"

Barry straightened up fully, grinning at her again, "Well, _Barry_ is going to be producing and _starring_ in an action packed re-adaptation of The Cell Games."

Videl balked, choking on her mouthful as she stared, " _Really_?!"

"That's right, Viddy," He gloated, "And guess what major part Barry is playing?"

"C-Cell?" she squeaked warily, a feeling of dread encompassing her.

"What? No way!" Barry scoffed, "I am _way_ too gorgeous to be cast as that wretched monster. I'm going to be playing Son Gohan of course!"

"You've _got_ to be fucking joking," she deadpanned, as a howl of raucous laughter from a certain hallucination echoed in her mind. _Stupid ghosts._

"I know it's impressive isn't it, sweetie?" The young actor chuffed, "The title is going to be ' _Barry Khan in 'The Boy That Delivered'. The Cell Games, The Movie._ ' Good eh?"

She would never have thought that this date could get any worse. Evidently, she was wrong to underestimate him.

"And _guess_ who we've cast as little Miss Satan?" he pressed, flashing his glowing teeth again.

Videl blinked, "What? Why am I in it?"

"How could you _not_ be in it?" Barry snorted, "You _were_ the one that Son Gohan saved out on the battlefield after all. And you can't have an action-romance movie without the damsel in distress, can you?"

Her anger towards the fact that he thought of her as _any_ kind of damsel quickly dissipated, as her mind slowly began to process his words, "Wait, _r-romance_?! How can it be a romance movie?! We were eleven!"

Barry rolled his eyes in a demeaning manner, "Oh Viddy, I know you don't _understand_ movies that well what with all your 'karate' stuff. But romance is what makes it more exciting! It'll be _fabulous_ don't you worry! Coco and I have great chemistry on set!"

"Coco?" Videl mustered weakly as the young man nodded.

"That's right!" He said smugly, puffing out his chest, "Coco Amaguri, the worlds number one teen pop idol. This movie is going to be _huge_ baby, and I mean HUGE! It's gonna take about a couple of years to finish, especially after those huge earthquakes we had a couple of months back that destroyed the studio. But once the set is rebuilt, we can start work on the special effects. Trust me, it'll be worth it, and make Barry a hell of a lot of money!"

"Hang on," she interjected, trying to look past the fact that the brunette _bimbo_ was going to be playing her in a movie - she didn't even look like her for a start! "How is that even going to be realistic to _anyone_? You've got adults playing kids for a start, not to mention that when Gohan defeated Cell, he was - and you're not exactly - well… "

She was going to say ' _not a gigantic dickhead_ ' (it didn't matter how good of an actor he was) but Barry seemed to take something else from her words altogether.

"Ah I see what you're saying," he nodded thoughtfully, running a hand through his hair once more, "I'm not the most 'athletic' compared to those fighters at The Cell Games, but I've been hitting the gym _pretty_ hard. I don't mean to brag, but I can lift about half of my body weight."

 _Yeah, as opposed to Gohan, who can bench press a planet with his pinky,_ she thought, wrinkling her nose in distaste as Barry pulled up his jacket sleeve and started tensing his bicep, which was definitely smaller than hers.

"It's a start," he informed her with a smirk, "But it's all just for show anyway. I have my stunt double to do the rest."

"Of course you do," she said in a clipped tone, as his blue eyes danced at her hungrily.

"We can talk more about it back at my penthouse if you like," he winked suggestively, his soft and overly moisturised fingertips brushing her forearm, "I could even show you my costume. Barry _rocks_ the shoulder pads by the way."

OH GREAT KAMI NO.

Videl blanched, snatching her arm away from him and making to scratch her neck as a folly. It was suddenly getting _extremely_ warm in here.

"Well, if that doesn't float your boat, I could always give you my best Son Gohan impression," he smiled.

"T-That's not necessary," she implored, " _Really_."

"I don't mind," said Barry, "It's not every day that you get to see The Khan Master in action before the tape starts rolling. Think of it as Barry's treat to his Viddy."

The Khan - _what_?

Though she had no chance to ask, or run away for that matter. As 'The Khan Master' pulled back from the table, balling up his fists and scrunching up his face as though he was in a great amount of pain.

Her eyes widened. _Surely_ he wasn't going to - ?

"HUUHHHHHHHHUHUHUHUHHHHHHHHHHEEEHHERRHRRRHHHH!"

Oh Gods. He was.

"HAAAAAAAHUYUHHHEHEHEHHHHHHUUUUUHHHHBBBBRRRRRH!"

All eyes were suddenly on their table again, as Barry leaned over his chair and then cried out to the heavens. As he 'powered up', his face was completely red, his mouth hanging open in a weird 'o' shape, and his eyes practically bulging from his head.

He looked as though he was extremely constipated, or having a full-body stroke coupled with a seizure and a generous dose of poisoning. She could see all the veins in his neck protrude outwards, his face getting even _redder_ with each scream. A scream that sounded like a thousand chipmunks being simultaneously mauled to death. Videl sat there completely mortified in the middle of the restaurant. She had never seen nor heard something so utterly repulsive in all her life - and she had faced off against Majin Buu for crying out loud!

"HHHHHUYUYYYUHHUHUUHHHEHHEHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHH!"

She had to make it stop!

"BARRY!" Videl roared suddenly, halting the young man in his stance that looked as though he was going to make a mess of his pants, "Y-You can stop now. I get it. I-Its great. _Please_."

"I know it's a lot to handle, just _striking_ isn't it?" he puffed, his face slowly returning to its normal colour as he _thankfully_ sat back down in his seat.

"Well, that's one word for it," Videl mustered, as a rapid round of applause rang out across the room, prompting Barry to blow a few kisses and wave at his fans.

"Thank you! Thank you!" He boasted, leaning back in his seat and flipping his hair in a cocky manner, "It's a scene from my new movie! Oh you truly are too much! I'll be handing out autographs later -!"

She couldn't help but roll her eyes for the umpteenth time that evening, holding her red face in her hands as the crowd began to chant _"B-Khan! B-Khan! B-Khan!"_ Barry completely oblivious to her mortification as he blew several more kisses towards the awestruck crowd.

Her mind drifted to Erasa and Sharpener. She really needed to get better friends with less stupid ideas. All she wanted was cake. And then she could finally go home.

" - I mean it's ridiculous when you think about it. If anything, I feel sorry for the kid."

"Huh?" Videl blinked, unaware that Barry had started speaking again. It was all too easy to drown him out after all.

"I mean, my agent _did_ say that I have to bulk up more," the actor continued, "But I don't see why _Barry_ has to change just because Son Gohan was quite obviously the product of some kind of abuse. It goes against The Moral Code of Barry!"

Uncaring of what 'The Moral Code of Barry' included - which probably wasn't as moral as it sounded, Videl suddenly reared up, " _What_ did you say?"

"Oh come off it Viddy," Barry snorted, "The kid was _obviously_ on steroids or something. No eleven year old is THAT buff. His parents probably put him on a diet of nothing put pills and protein shakes."

She was momentarily stunned. Though very quickly recovered, clenching her fists as an angered snarl flew from her lips, "Of course they didn't! Gohan's genetics - !"

"Please Videl, stop living in a fantasy land," he guffawed, as if looking down at her from a pedestal, "You don't honestly believe that, do you? Barry _knows_. He does his research on the characters he plays. Son Gohan's parents did karate or judo or whatever you call it for _years_. They were in world tournaments just like your dad. I'm not denying he wasn't strong, he did save the world. But I'm just saying that there must have been some foul play at hand."

Her blood was positively _boiling_ , as Barry continued with an arrogant huff, "It's a shame that his parents didn't realise his potential sooner. He could have been real big if he hadn't of kicked the bucket. But you know how child stars are, he probably wouldn't have been able to handle the pressure that the industry brings like _I_ could. I'm talking drugs, addiction, prostitutes, prison - the whole hog."

"Gohan," she breathed heavily, trying to keep her rage at bay, "Gohan isn't like that."

Barry stared at her for a moment, before erupting into a cry of pompous laughter, "Oh Viddy, you're too funny! You sound like you know him personally or something!"

 _"I know_ ** _nothing_** _about you!" She had screamed, her harsh tone echoing over the ship, intermingling with the roaring ocean waves._

 _"You know that I love you," he had told her, those beautiful dark eyes shining with emotion. A burning, unyielding longing that set fire to her soul, begging her not to let him go, "And I know that you love me."_

"I-I thought I did," she mustered quietly, her resolve faltering for but a moment in light of the haunting memory. Unconsciously, one of her hands moved from her lap to her abdomen, caressing it softly.

"Well anyway, despite his wasted potential, at least he made something of himself before he died," Barry sighed, taking a sip of his champagne whilst Videl's remained untouched, "Too bad he never got the chance to take advantage of it like _I_ would have. But it's like I said, he might not have been able to handle the fame. Poor kid clearly had mental issues."

Videl's head perked up, her eyes hardening, "Do you _want_ to repeat that?"

Ignorant to her dangerous tone, the blonde continued, "I mean obviously he was a degenerate. No sane person _willing_ risks their life like that."

"So you're saying that you wouldn't have done that if you had all the power that Gohan had?" She said sharply, "Now why doesn't that surprise me."

"And it shouldn't!" said Barry, taking another swing of his glass, "But when you're raised like that I suppose you lose all logical reasoning. No, I would have done the sensible thing and took off."

"That doesn't make you _sensible_ , that makes you a coward," she spat, her fingernails digging into the palms of her hands and threatening to draw blood.

"No, that makes me _smart_ Videl," he grinned, an air of entitlement about him, "Tell me, which one of us is still alive and which one is six feet under?"

Videl seethed, she was _burning_ with fury. She was also pretty positive that her Ki was spiking, the air becoming heavier all of a sudden as she tried desperately to restrain herself from strangling the badmouthing git. The cutlery left on the table started to rattle, a distant rumbling could be heard throughout the restaurant as the water in Videl's glass started to ripple and slosh.

But Barry appeared not to have noticed.

"It's probably a good thing that he died when you really think about it, I mean, you saw all those horrific things he could do live on air when he was just a _kid_!" He implored, seemingly amused by his own opinionated ramblings, he took great enjoyment in it, "Especially with all those enhancement drugs in his system! _Imagine_ what he could do now!"

Oh she imagined it, alright. Even though she didn't want to believe it.

Those hands, scarred and calloused from years of training and battle, were all too reminiscent of the Destroyer that he had become. But how was it that those same dangerous hands were capable of touching her so gently? Capable of holding her so sweetly? How was it that those same dark eyes that had seen torture, loss and destruction - sometimes inflicted by himself - had given her such soft and starry eyed glances? Gazed upon her with a nervous inexperience, way back when the thunderstorm had rained upon them the night when he had finally revealed himself to his family and friends? The deep onyx orbs pleading with her to be just as gentle with his soul as he was being with her, searching for her trust before he gave himself to her completely.

She had overreacted, back on the ship on Bulma's birthday. She knew that. But she was so _hurt_. So lost and confused and unknowing of what the hell she was going to do without him. And despite what he thought, it didn't matter to her that he was training to become a God of Destruction, for she trusted that he was doing it for all the right reasons. She just wished that she could have told him so.

Of course, she was angry, she was angry that he had kept it from her. Angry that his role within the universe was forcing them apart when it felt so _right_ being with him. And even though he had left a part of him with her in the form of a tiny, growing bud of life that they had unknowingly created, a part of **_her_** had left with him.

 _Please Vi, don't let us end like this._

She scrunched her eyes up tight, as the echo of Gohan's desperate pleas were replaced by the grating sound of Barry's arrogant laughter.

"See, you're missing the point again, Viddy. People with power like that - it's _monsters_ running around and living among us is what it is," he told her, bringing the glass to his lips once more, "If you ask Barry, the world is better off without him -"

 **WHAM!**

The crippling sound of knuckles on bone ricocheted throughout the restaurant, a surge of violent winds accompanying it as Videl's furious red aura flickered into existence for all but a split second. Tables, chairs, patrons and waiters completely toppled over from the force, napkins and table cloths blew backwards, and the tinkering sound of smashing glass and cutlery filled the air.

But Videl paid no heed to the startled shouts and goings on about her. Instead, her livid gaze was fixed to the pathetic heap of a man writhing on the ground from where he had flew across the room and hit the opposite wall. There was a sizeable crack in the paintwork, but the damage was nothing compared to his face. His new nose was quite obviously broken, bleeding unforgivingly from each nostril as _both_ of his eyes were already beginning to blacken and bruise.

He cried out in shock and agony, clutching desperately at his face until he snarled right up at the girl through the flabbergasted - and quite rightly scared - crowd that had gathered around them. He gasped in blind horror, picking up several of his teeth from the ground, more blood spewing from his lips as he positively shrieked.

"WHAT 'AVE YOU DONB TO BME YOU 'RAZY BITSHH?!"

Videl smirked, as his voice came out clipped and nasally, still clasping his face as he shook with both pain and anger. She stalked up to him, her heels digging into the carpeted floor, folding her arms over her chest as she stated coolly, "Only revealed some of the ugliness on the inside, Barry. It's a shame though, this is just the tip of the iceberg."

"W-Why - ?" He demanded hotly, cutting himself short as a few nearby waiting staff attempted to help him to his feet, "Get _offb_! 'GET OFF BME 'OO IBIOTS! V-Vibby - I-I 'bon't understanb - !"

"First of all, my name isn't _Viddy_ ," she spat, as the crowd around him gasped at his hostility, "And second, can't you figure that one out for yourself? I thought that you were supposed to be _smart._ "

With that, she huffed, spinning on her heel and storming away from him, several onlookers jumping out of her way as she did so. Though just before she reached the swinging doors, she turned, her gleaming sapphire eyes locking with his once more, as he finally allowed a couple of waiters to help him to his feet.

"Oh and spoiler alert for your 'big movie' about Son Gohan," said Videl, staring him down with disgust, "He grows up to be a greater man than you will _ever_ be."

Not giving him a chance to reply, Videl charged out of the dining room, ignoring the hushed and startled whispers that followed her to the stairwell. Once she reached the roof, she took off and blasted through the night sky at a vigorous speed, landing on the rooftop of her apartment building in Orange Star City in just under ten minutes.

She breathed a heavy sigh of relief as her heels touched the stone tiles, the flight having cooled her heated skin and calmed her down somewhat. Alright so _maybe_ she had been a little heavy handed in her strike, but she in no way thought that her punch wasn't justified.

Her skin crawled with a prickling anger, talking herself down from flying back there and blasting that pompous prick into oblivion - wait, where did _that_ come from?

Shaking the hair out of her eyes and attributing it to her stupid hormones, she took out her phone and switched it back on, making to text both Sharpener and Erasa of the nights events (giving them a piece of her mind in the process), and subsequently prepare them for the whole disaster being spread across the tabloids tomorrow morning for the whole world to see. No doubt some patron would go blabbing to the press about how they saw Mister Satan's daughter deck _the great_ Barry Khan to the ground in the middle of a crowded restaurant.

Though she couldn't help but allow an evil grin to spread across her lips at the image of the pitiful actor picking his precious teeth up off of the floor.

Just as she was about to hit send, and relish in the fact that her night couldn't possibly get worse, did the fates once again prove her wrong. The flicker of a familiar Ki tingling at her senses all to unmistakable to miss.

Videl whirled around, her sharp eyes narrowing at the tall figure standing on the ledge of the rooftop. Of course, he hadn't even _bothered_ to conceal himself, she noticed, his long white cloak billowing in the wind as he looked down upon her with judgement in his stare.

Any normal person would have screamed bloody murder at the sight and ran for the hills, as the stoic Namekian looked rather eerie in the silvery light of the stars that bathed the terrace. Though Videl was not deterred by such a domineering presence, as literally _nothing_ normal happened around her any more.

"Don't you have a home to go to or something?" She huffed in annoyance, abandoning her text message and folding her arms haughtily across her chest, "Or did Dende kick you off The Lookout for pissing him off too?"

Piccolo raised an eyebrow, his arms folded in a similar manner as she, only mildly surprised that she was being a little more hostile than usual.

"It's late," he observed, ignoring the question, "Shouldn't you be in bed by now?"

Videl gaped, her eyes flashing in anger, "Who are _you_ to give _me_ a CURFEW?!"

Her sudden screech echoed over the empty rooftop, though Piccolo remained unfazed. Damn, she was being much more snappy with him today, but in her defence, she was quickly reaching the end of her tether.

She'd had similar interactions with the Namekian over the past few weeks, mainly because the green-skinned alien had taken to staking out on the rooftop on her apartment building. Sometimes, she would even spot him on the next roof terrace over, whereby he had a full view of her living room window. He was there every morning and every night, mainly in the same meditative position or vigilant pose, and would simply grunt or scoff when she had told him to stop spying on her.

But despite her protests, Piccolo didn't budge.

"Besides, incase you haven't noticed, I'm not a kid," she snapped, "I'm nineteen, and live on my _own_. You know, something that normal people do for some _peace and quiet_?!"

"Hn," Piccolo grunted, the stars reflecting in his beetle black eyes, "Is that so? Well, if you acted more responsibly, maybe people would leave you alone. It's already past midnight, and you have work early tomorrow."

She stared, so he knew her _work schedule_ now?!

"I can look after myself," she glowered, turning away from him, "And not that it's _any_ of your business, but I cancelled my overtime for tomorrow."

His cryptic gaze gave her a once over, "I don't think that Gohan would be too happy to know that you're going out on dates in your condition."

"Well, _Gohan_ isn't here is he?!" Videl snapped, the harsh words flying from her lips before she could stop herself, "And besides, he LEFT me in this 'condition' so maybe he should have thought about that before he -!"

"You _both_ got yourselves into this situation," he said sharply, cutting across her, "So save me the sob story."

She faltered, the penetrative look in Piccolo's eyes making her feel uneasy - and guilty. There was truth to his words after all. Her chest suddenly felt tight, the image of a pair of dark eyes, shining with hurt, drifted into her mind, a horrible ache burning away at her.

"It was my friends," she began to explain with a defeated sigh, "They talked me into it. But only to try and make me feel better, and to… forget. It was stupid. Nothing happened anyway."

"Well, you punched him, that happened," said Piccolo, looking rather amused by the fact - and impressed, the corners of his lips twitching upwards.

Videl couldn't help but allow a wry smile to grace her lips, before she frowned, realisation dawning on her, "You know, it's illegal to stalk people."

"So arrest me."

"Oh shut up," she grouched, which to her chargin, only caused the Namekian to smirk, "I'm going to bed. Are you going to stay outside all night again?"

"Yep."

The girl rolled her eyes, "Don't you, I don't know, _sleep_?!"

Piccolo grunted, "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

"Oh how dark and mysterious of you," she mused sarcastically, "But just so you know, I'm not giving you a blanket if you get cold."

He scoffed, as she turned on her heel and opened the fire door that led down to the stairwell, shutting it harshly with a loud clang and leaving him in the dust.

After feeding Bee and having a steaming hot shower (mainly to get rid of remnants of where Barry may have _breathed_ on her), Videl readied herself for a much needed sleep, but not before peaking out of her bedroom curtains and peering out at the next rooftop over.

She rolled her eyes in exasperation, harshly pulling the curtain closed as indeed, Piccolo's silhouette was all too clear to her in the dim light of the stars from where he floated in a meditative pose.

Flopping onto her mattress with an audible huff of despair, the Satan girl buried her face into the pillows. The weight of the evening slowly weighed her down, allowing her to fall into her dreams that were filled with a familiar pair of haunted onyx eyes.

* * *

 _Yep, still there,_ Videl griped in annoyance, taking a sip of her morning coffee as she glared out of her living room window, snapping the blinds shut once more. He was still in the same pose for goodness sake!

A repugnant taste suddenly hit her tongue, prompting her to quickly out spit her mouthful back into the mug, a wave of nausea churning in her gut.

 _Great_ , she growled, wrapping her dressing gown further around herself and storming into the kitchen, making to dump the entire cup down the sink, relenting in the fact that her 'condition' as Piccolo so eloquently put it, was now depriving her of the sweet nectar of morning.

This _sucked_.

 **Knock. Knock. Knock.**

A sharp knock of the door broke her out of her thoughts. Abandoning the now empty mug in the kitchen sink, Videl sighed and made to open it, nudging an excitable Bee out of the way as she did so and _praying_ that it wasn't Piccolo or Kami-forbid Barry… or Barry's lawyer.

Though the actor was a coward to his very core, and although he may be an idiot, he certainly wasn't _completely_ dense. If he had done his 'research' into Gohan and the Z-Fighters like he had claimed, he wouldn't dare to file a lawsuit against her, not when there was a chance that he could get a visit from her incredibly powerful friends. Her father too, was a very influential man, and had a hell of a lot more fans than Barry - being so publicly selfless and loyal. The man could wreck his entire career if he so wished. That, and Barry was clearly humiliated by the whole affair. He was probably still licking his wounds somewhere.

When she opened the door, she was relieved yet surprised to see that it was neither of the people that she had been expecting.

Chi-Chi smiled at her warmly, "Hello dear, can I come in?"

Videl blinked, feeling a little embarrassed as it was already late morning and she still wasn't dressed. Her visitor, however, was wearing an elegant Eastern style yellow dress and a light purple shawl. Looking fresh faced and a little windswept, a few strands of her long dark hair falling out of her bun which indicated that she had travelled here on Nimbus.

It was a little odd by all accounts, as Chi-Chi hardly ever visited her. Usually, Videl would come to stay with the Son's on a regular basis, to train and - oh… it _had_ been a while since she had done that. Two months in fact. A guilty feeling formed a tight knot in the pit of her stomach, she really hoped that Goku wasn't mad at her for not training.

Granted, she hadn't ignored them altogether. They had checked in with her with the occasional phone call. She didn't know why, but she just hadn't been able to face them. It was all too much. The last time she had seen them was back at Bulma's party, where everyone was still too stunned to speak, the sadness radiating from everyone too much to bare. She had left early with her father, ignoring both Goku and Chi-Chi's worried glances, and insisting that it was fine. That _she_ was fine. They were so heartbroken, and she couldn't let them see that she was falling apart too. And similarly pretend that this all wasn't really happening.

Though as Chi-Chi stood before her, her eyes searching and stance unwavering, she had no choice but to give in. She couldn't hide from her any more, the woman was _far_ too stubborn for that. And she supposed that it was her own fault after all, she had been so busy working that she hadn't returned her calls for over a fortnight.

She nodded wordlessly, stepping aside to allow her entrance. She noticed how her calculated gaze swept her slightly messy apartment, the dirty cups in the sink and the jumbled stack of paper work and unsolved cases on the coffee table. The blinds were still closed, blocking out the warm summer sun and bathing the room in a dark orange glow.

Without asking, Chi-Chi waltzed through the open plan kitchen and into the living room to open the blinds, stepping over Bee with a small smile, who had rolled over in front of her to try and coax his new visitor to rub his belly.

Videl squinted in the sudden brightness that flooded the apartment, though she was thankful to the woman for not commenting on her lack of efficiency when it came to housework. The mess now all the more clear in the sunlight.

"There, that's better," Chi-Chi observed brightly, looking out of the large window and peering over the city, "I see that Piccolo is still here."

The Satan girl let out a short noise of irritation, though this only seemed to amuse the woman further, as she let out a small chuckle at the disgruntled look on her features.

"Well, what did you expect?" She quirked with a knowing smile.

"Don't tell me that you're encouraging this madness?" Videl huffed, folding her arms across her chest.

"He's just keeping an eye out for you, dear," she told her, "It's what he's like. _Trust me_ on this one, the more you try to get rid of him, the more he'll keep coming back."

There was a glint to her eyes that she couldn't quite put her finger on, when she spoke again, "He and Gohan had a very special bond, you know. And it appears that they still do. He's still looking out for him, even after all this time."

Videl's gaze softened at her words, the sadness to her tone impossible to ignore, "So you're saying just suck it up, and accept my big green guardian angel?"

"In a way, yes," The ox-princess laughed softly, causing the girl to sigh.

"Well, as sweet as it is, it doesn't mean that I have to like it."

Chi-Chi chuckled, her laughter petering out until a solemn and rather awkward silence remained.

"Er, do you want some tea?" asked Videl, leading her back into the kitchen.

"You sit yourself down, sweetheart," she replied, her tone sweet yet her eyes fierce - as though daring her to protest, "I'll make it."

Reluctantly, she did as she was told. Plonking herself down at the kitchen table, and tucking a strand of stray hair behind her ear. As the sound of the kettle boiling filled the room, Videl couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of the woman rooting through her cupboards. Unlike hers, Chi-Chi's kitchen had a proper place for everything. An almost regal charm that she was certain stemmed from her royal roots.

Luckily, before Videl had to intervene out of sheer embarrassment, the former mountain princess managed to find the teabags. Now safely stewing in the teapot, the comforting smell of the fragrant leaves filled the air as the two women sat across from each other, Bee sleeping soundly at their feet under the table.

"So, how have you been?" Chi-Chi asked her sincerely, causing Videl to blanch.

"Alright," she shrugged guiltily, "Work has been busy, i-it's why I haven't called, I -"

"I wasn't asking about work," she cut across her a little more firmly this time, her penetrative gaze unwavering as she began to pour the hot tea into her cup.

Videl faltered, squirming in her seat as though she was being told off. Though as credit to the headstrong mother, she always _did_ cut straight to the point.

"Oh, I-I've been good," she replied finally, though she was unable to look her in the eye, "I mean, I haven't had any sickness or anything that I've read about on the internet. Although, I found out this morning that I can't stomach coffee any more."

"Well, that can only be a good thing," Chi-Chi mused, almost teasingly, "I have always said that you drank too much of the stuff."

"Yeah," The girl breathed, looking down at the cup of warm liquid, the steam rising in unfurling columns that filtered into the air.

"Have you been to see a doctor or midwife yet?" There she was again, straight to the point.

Videl paused, before she shook her head, and Chi-Chi's lips pursed. In all honesty, she thought that she was going to call her out on it, when she sighed, and gave her an understanding smile.

"Well, it's nothing that can't be sorted," she told her, "It's still quite early. I didn't find out until I was around this far along with both of my boys. And Bulma and I know some excellent professionals that you can see. They are very discreet. We can always go with you, if you like."

"T-Thanks, Chi-Chi," Videl mustered, though the whole thought of going to see actual _professionals_ and start of this whole 'pushing a kid out of her' process felt like a stone had dropped into her stomach like a deadweight.

The ever perceptive woman picked up on it straight away, as she spoke tentatively, "Videl, honey, it's going to be okay, you know."

She looked up, as Chi-Chi placed her hand on top of hers, giving her a motherly look of reassurance across the steaming cups of tea.

Videl swallowed thickly, though did not move her hand away, "I-I'm fine. Really."

She knew that she was just kidding herself, and Chi-Chi knew it too. The idea of having a kid was _terrifying_. And it wasn't exactly something that the nineteen year old had factored into her life plan for at least another ten years. She had only _just_ moved out of her childhood home, was gearing herself up to work her way up through the ranks of the OSCPD and training to reach a new level of strength that could only be taught by masters of Ki.

Speaking of work, she had refrained from mentioning anything to them just yet, and similarly couldn't bring herself to. Her father had graciously offered his financial support when she had to take time off. But every time she thought about it, she felt a sickening coil of dread start to wind tightly in her gut.

It's not like she didn't think that she couldn't do it alone. Not in the slightest. And had held her ground when her father had insisted that she sell her apartment and move back to live with him. But Videl had once again, point blank refused.

She was stubborn to a point that was at times frustrating for her loved ones. And she could see it in Chi-Chi's eyes too.

"I'm just as strong willed and independent as you are," she told her, her tea now abandoned, "But you're an incredibly smart girl, and I'm sure that you're already aware that having a baby is a big change. And I - _we_ , Goku and I, we don't want you to put yourself in a bad place just because you're mad at Gohan."

Her eyes widened, "Chi-Chi, I'm not _mad,_ I'm just - "

"Sweetie, it's okay," she implored, "It's okay to be angry and frustrated about all of this. It's _okay_ to be scared. I am too. We _all_ are. Mainly because, even in death, he's taken on such an enormous responsibly."

She paused, as a fleeting thought entered her mind, wondering what _he_ was doing now, billions of lightyears away. Was he just as lost as she was?

And then it hit her, a quaking tremor of realisation surging through her bones at the thought of him fighting out there. Was he fiercely fighting in a gruesome battle as she sat here in her humble kitchen? Was he hurt? Severely injured? Was he winning? Or was he locked up in some horrid prison somewhere, the harsh punishment of the Gods already bestowed on him for falling in love with a mortal? And with that love came… _the mistake_ , the evidence that was impossible to ignore as it continued to grow within her.

"My Gohan hasn't changed," said Chi-Chi indefinitely, a weak smile forming upon her lips, "He has always thought that he has to go at it alone and rise to the call, no matter how difficult the task."

She paused again, as Videl continued to listen, the warmth from the older woman's palm radiating through her, "You two are very much alike, more than I think you realise."

She suddenly felt as though she had been hit with a sledgehammer.

 _"You're the most stubborn person that I've ever met, Videl," He had said, his onyx eyes shining with longing and something much deeper, "And you know what? It's just one of the things that I love about you."_

The burning ache resurfaced behind her throat and eyes, her voice coming out in a hoarse whisper, "I'm so sorry, Chi-Chi."

"Oh darling," the woman soothed, clasping her hand in both of hers now, "You don't have to be sorry. There is _nothing_ to be sorry for, do you hear me?"

"But i-it's just such a _mess_ ," she pressed, forcing down the imposing lump that had appeared in her throat, "I-I didn't mean for all of this to happen. I didn't think that it _could_ , and even though I knew he had to leave, I still - "

"Videl," Chi-Chi cut across her, "Listen to me, and listen to me very carefully. _None_ of this is your fault, nor Gohan's. And I know that right now, he is beating himself up just as much as you are. You cannot help who you love. Love doesn't adhere to boundaries, it's the most powerful thing in the universe, and the most uncontrollable. You do not need to apologise for something that you can't control."

Even though she was Gohan's mother, Chi-Chi had been her friend first and foremost, so her words didn't embarrass her probably as much as they should have done. Though was an odd feeling, sitting across from the woman whose grandchild resided within her. It was almost poetic, in a way, as Chi-Chi had always jested about how if her eldest son were still alive, that they would have been perfect for one another.

And she was right, they _were_ perfect, no matter how imperfect their situation was.

Those blissful, stolen moments between them was something that she never wanted to forget, even though, right now, it hurt so much to remember them. And just like that, there at the kitchen table, did her mind kick into overdrive. Realisation dawned and shame filled her, tearing at her guts and twisting them so much that she felt as though she needed to heave. Because, by Gods, how the _hell_ was she going to become a mother when she barely remembered her own?

Sod the whole giving birth part that she had initially been freaking out over - which still scared the shite out of her mind you. How was it that she was going to be able to nurture and care for this tiny infant afterwards? How was it that she was going to keep it well nourished and educated? How was it that she was going to keep this little person safe and warm and happy? How was she going to explain that she had chased away their absent father with her venomous words? One whom she was certain that she would never see again.

Falling uncontrollably in love was one thing, but at that moment, she had never felt so out of control in her entire life.

She was in way _way_ over her head.

A slight squeeze of her hand shook her out of her damning thoughts, causing her to look up at the woman across from her. Chi-Chi's eyes, that she hadn't realised looked so much like Gohan's until now, bore into hers, a silent warmth and understanding to their depths. And it was within those eyes that she noticed something. The difference to the former princess' gaze that was all to obvious to her now. The fact that when _he_ was here, home and with her, that there was a spark within those onyx orbs that was now absent once again. As though it had only returned when he had.

But now, there was an emptiness that reflected her own, and she couldn't help but feel selfish. Because she realised that wasn't the only one hurting. It was more than obvious to her now, the way that Piccolo had refused to keep his distance, trying to protect her because he couldn't protect _him_. The way that Goku, her mentor, hadn't pushed her to keep training these past weeks, maybe because he couldn't bring himself to keep up his own rigorous schedule, the weight of losing his son all over again bearing down like heavy chains that struggled against his will to keep on going like usual. The way that the phone calls and texts kept coming, even though she had diligently ignored them.

And the way that Chi-Chi was looking at her, pleading with her almost, to let her be there for her, because in reality, it was _killing_ her not to be able to be there for Gohan.

Videl swallowed thickly, her resolve faltering even more so as Chi-Chi gave her a watery smile back.

"Sometimes, what's meant to break you makes you brave," she told her, giving her hand another squeeze, the wise words sinking in, "But I want you to know that you're not alone Videl, we're all here for you, and Gohan."

"G-Gohan?" She sniffed, attempting to curb the well of tears that threatened to spill over. She was confused, how could they be there for Gohan when he was already gone?

To her surprise, Chi-Chi's smile widened, "You didn't think that rowdy lot were just going to sit around and wait for those evil Gods to start wreaking havoc here on Earth did you?"

Videl frowned, her curiosity peaked, as the headstrong woman shook her head with mild amusement, "Krillin and the others, they're already training harder than ever. Goku has even been talking about entering the Hyperbolic Time Chamber again, and I doubt that Vegeta will let him go in there without him now that Dende has rebuilt it after the fight with Majin Buu. Bulma too, I spoke to her a few days ago and she tells me that she's about half way done with the universal dragon radar. It's a pity though, Dende has been trying to contact The Supreme Kai so that we can send some sort of word to Gohan, but he's not been able to reach him so far."

Chi-Chi sighed heavily, her grip on hers loosening, "I just wish I could talk to him. To tell him that no matter what has happened, after all the shock and confusion, that we're all still so proud of him. And that everyone wants to help him fight whatever evil is coming. Believe you me, no one is going to hurt my baby boy and get away with it, because no matter what he's become, he is still my son first and foremost."

"T-That's great Chi-Chi," she said quietly after a beat of silence, her mouth running dry, "I-I just wish I could tell him… tell him that I -"

She cut herself short, unable to say the words out loud. Though she didn't need to, as Chi-Chi understood. In a way, she understood _exactly_ how she was feeling. Because how many times had this woman faced such anguish and heartbreak? She had lost both her eldest son and husband on numerous occasions, whether it was to death's cruel clutches or to the deep and mysterious vastness of outer space. She had watched from the sidelines time and time again, waited and watched the brutal attacks of evil upon her family. And she had stood back, strong and sometimes hard-faced, because they _needed_ her to be. Because Chi-Chi knew that if she crumbled, then her family would crumble too.

And so she carried on regardless of circumstance, regardless of the hardships that had befallen her. Over cooked and over cleaned, sometimes over compensated for the aching loss that she felt every single day. She had made sure, with both of her boys even, that they had a good upbringing and a firm education. Ruling the roost with an iron fist and shrugging off nitpicking comments that dubbed her too strict or too harsh on her children.

Videl had heard Krillin and the others jest how crazy it was that the great Son Goku was terrified of his own wife. But the Satan girl didn't see that, she didn't see fear in her mentors eyes when his wife berated him for being out training too long or trailing dirt through the house. No, she saw respect and admiration, because Son Goku positively adored her, and knew first and foremost of the sacrifices she had made in order to keep their family together. And understood and shared in the failure they both felt around Gohan's untimely death.

And how could he not admire her for such quirks? For every woman alive is the sum of all she ever did, felt and was, and Chi-Chi was the sheer _embodiment_ of that. She was a woman of substance, and was without a doubt, the strongest woman that Videl had ever met, and when Chi-Chi told her that she could do something, or that indeed, something _would_ happen, it was incredibly difficult not to believe her.

A scrape of the wooden chair legs upon the kitchen tiles reached her ears, and before she knew it, she was enveloped in one of Chi-Chi's bone-crushing hugs. But somehow, this embrace was different to the ones they had shared before. She let her rest her tearstained cheeks upon her bosom, pulling her to her chest so close that she could hear her heart beating and pulsing through her ribcage. The comforting smell of fabric softener intermingled with the cool mountain air wafted into her nostrils, a warmth radiating through her entire soul so that it was all encompassing.

She hugged her back with vigour, her arms encircling her slender waist as she remained seated, hot tears streaming freely down her feverish cheeks now. For she remembered hugs like this, back when she was a little girl and before the deadly heart virus had wrenched her own mother away from her. And even though her father had tried to fill the hole in her heart where her mother had been, there was nothing quite like a mother's hug. And she couldn't help but think that Chi-Chi was damned well spectacular at them.

"I'm sure you'll tell him," whispered Chi-Chi, her chest vibrating as she spoke, "One day."

"H-How do you know that?" She asked, her voice throaty and hoarse as she was released, feeling a little embarrassed as she observed the tear-soaked patch on the older woman's dress. Though she didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

"Call it a feeling," the ox-princess shrugged, giving her a wry smile as she reached for the box of tissues at the end of the table and passed one to her.

"Now, no more tears," Chi-Chi sniffed, dabbing her own watery eyes, "We can't have all this fuss when there's so much to do, now can we?"

Videl shook her head, unable to stop her lips from twitching upwards in amusement as she composed herself. Trust Chi-Chi to spring straight back into action.

Taking a swig of her tea, Videl grimaced, prompting the older woman to sigh with mild exasperation and whip the cold brew out of her hands.

"Here, let me make another pot," she smiled, gathering up the tea pot and shuffling over to the kitchen counter, "Cold tea just won't do."

As the sound of the bubbling kettle filled the room once more, the Satan girl could still feel the ebbing guilt gnawing away at her.

"I'm sorry for not coming over in a while Chi-Chi," she blurted, "I mean, I've been slacking on my training and Goku must be so -."

"What did I tell you about apologising unnecessarily, young lady?" The older woman challenged, staring her down, though there was still a softness to her gaze, "And don't you worry about Goku. He's been worried about you of course, we all have been. I've had to stop him a few times from popping by, as tactless as he can be - "

Videl cleared her throat, averting her eyes as the memory of her mentor barging in on her and Gohan after they had spent their first passionate night together sprang into her mind.

" - but I told him that you needed your space," Chi-Chi continued, seemingly oblivious to the girl's embarrassment, "But there is only so much that space can do. You'll drive yourself crazy if you keep yourself holed up in here for too long."

"Yeah, that's what my friends Sharpener and Erasa told me," she admitted, causing the ox-princess to smile.

"They sound very smart," she observed almost teasingly, as the kettle clicked, steam rising from the spout as it reached boiling point.

Videl held back a snort of contempt. If only she knew.

"I'm not trying to push it," said Chi-Chi, pouring the fresh water into the teapot, "But you know that you're always welcome at the cottage. I know Goten misses you."

"How is Goten?" she asked, another wave of guilt washing over her like nausea.

The older woman sighed, somewhat heavily, placing the teapot back on the table and taking a seat opposite her, "Honestly, he's not doing so well. I can tell that he was angry at Gohan for lying to him, and whilst he was here, I hoped that they would bond but… well… Goku has been trying to get him to open up about it. Just yesterday he offered to take him for a Nimbus ride, just the two of them, though when he told Goten that they were going to visit Gohan's grave along the way, Goten refused. He snapped back, and told Goku that he should be spending more time with his living son t-than his d-dead one. Goku was stunned as I'm sure you can imagine. A-As was I, and all he could do was stand there whilst I sent Goten to his room without dessert. H-He's never spoken to either of us like that before."

Videl winced, as Chi-Chi sighed again, frustrated tears in her eyes, "Goku has been spending a lot of time at Gohan's grave lately, talking to the statue. I can't blame him, he just wants to make things right with Gohan, but I-I'm worried that Goten thinks that we're abandoning him somehow."

"He'll be okay Chi-Chi," she implored, her heart going out to her, "He's just a little confused right now. It's a lot to handle for someone who has grown up as an only child, trust me on this one. He barely got to know his big brother before he went away again. He's just a kid, and I'm certain that he's just acting out. Don't worry, I'll talk to him. How's about I come over for dinner tonight?"

"Thank you, sweetheart," the ox-princess sniffed, dabbing her eyes with another tissue, "I'll make all your favourites, I'm sure the little one will enjoy it too."

As if on cue, a loud barbarous roar erupted from Videl's stomach, prompting both women's eyes to widen, before they let out a bark of laughter.

"Oops sorry," the Satan girl giggled sheepishly, "That's been happening a lot lately."

"I should think so too, you are growing a part Saiyan," Chi-Chi chuckled warmly, her dark eyes dancing at her, "Why don't you stay over tonight, and in the morning we can go to the doctor and get you an appointment. I can call Bulma too to come along if you like? She can pull some strings and get you a wellbeing scan sooner. I think it would be best if we make sure that everything is in ship shape."

"T-That would be great, thanks Chi-Chi," Videl smiled, feeling a little lighter, even if it was just a little, "Do you think that I could still train with Goku? I mean, it won't hurt the baby will it?"

"Hm, I should think you could train as long as you don't over do it," the headstrong woman said wisely, sipping her tea, "I still sparred with Goku when I was having Gohan, but not so much with Goten. Even so, we _are_ talking about yours and Gohan's child here, and it was like that Angel said, he or she is strong already."

She bit her lip in thought, as Chi-Chi's eyes surveyed her, "Still, I don't trust that cherub as far as I could throw him, so I'll make sure that Goku isn't as hard on you as usual. And _no_ Kiao-Ken, do we have a deal?"

"Deal," Videl chuckled, chinking their mugs together, "But when the baby is here, I'm going to train harder than ever before. If the others are thinking of helping Gohan and the Gods defeat Perses and Zamasu, then I want to help too."

Her elder eyed her for a moment, lips pursed in what she thought might have been disapproval, before she broke out into a smile, "Well, I suppose that I can't stop you. And even if I tried, I know that it would be no use. It's like I said, you're just as stubborn as Gohan, no wonder you two fell for each other as hard as you did."

A heated blush crept onto her cheeks, as Chi-Chi chuckled, a sparkle to her gaze as she looked around her apartment, "But first things first, we've got to get this place fit for a baby. I'll have to give Eighteen a call, she's got such an eye for style. Oh you should have _seen_ the nursery she and Krillin had for Marron, just beautiful it was -"

Videl blinked, dumfounded, as the woman in front of her continued to gush with excitement.

" - you'll need a crib, and a pushchair. Goku and I can get that for you, it's no bother. I can get Krillin and Yamcha to come and paint, but you'll have to stay over at ours whilst that's going ahead, we don't want you breathing in the paint fumes - "

Oh no, it was happening. Chi-Chi's grandma senses had reared their ugly heads, and kicked into overdrive.

" - neutral colours, _neutral_ of course. How much can your father contribute? Ah yes, it is never too early to open a bank account for the little one. You have to start saving for their future immediately you know - "

"Um Chi-Chi - " Videl tried, as she showed no sign of letting up in her rambling.

" - breastfeeding is just _so_ rewarding! I mean the little love will be living under your jumper for the first six months but at least you know that they'll be getting the best nutrition - "

"Chi-Chi!" She shouted, more firmly this time, halting her in her tracks, "I-Isn't it a bit _early_ to start thinking about all of this? I mean, I haven't even had my first appointment yet!"

"Oh, of course darling," Chi-Chi cooed, relaxing a little and brushing a hand through a dark strand of hair that had fallen out of her bun, "I'm sorry, but I can't help but feel a little… _excited_ about all of this. I mean, especially with losing Gohan, I didn't think that I'd be a grandmother for another fifteen to twenty years!"

Videl sighed in defeat, feeling a little bad for her outburst. She couldn't deny the woman after all, it was like she had gained a part of her son back even though he was lost to the stars once more.

"No, it's fine," she said with a weak smile, "Sorry, it's just been a lot to get my head around, you know? I mean, I haven't even thought of any _names_ yet, let alone what colour I'm going to paint the kid's nursery."

"Don't worry about a thing, I can help with that," she replied knowingly, grinning back at her.

Videl quirked an eyebrow, "You can?"

Chi-Chi nodded, her eyes practically sparkling in the midmorning sun that shone from the window pane.

"Tell me, what do you think of the name Einstein?"

* * *

 _ **By Divine decree, this planet has been cleared for demolition to make way for future developments.**_

 _ **Please contact your Galactic planning office for further details.**_

 _Coming soon, Nebula Condo's Bar and Grill - Our Gorgon steaks are out of this world!_

 **Vacant Lot, West Galaxy.**

Doom.

A feeling, a consequence. A condemnation to death, destruction, or to some other grizzly fate. Something that could happen gradually or suddenly, with or without warning.

An end. _The_ end. Well, the end to Planet Oizys anyway.

Dark eyes surveyed the explosion of dazzling crimson light and purple particles. One might say, devoid of any remorse. But remorse could not have saved them, _nothing_ could of. The Oizyians had already been dealt their warning, and yet had failed to meet the terms laid out to them by the Gods themselves.

Now, death had come for them. And it had arrived in the worst way possible.

In the form of a Destroyer.

Their screams and pleas for mercy were lost to the abyss, as the _Mass Extinction_ ripped through the atmosphere and blew apart the dark blue clouds, the point of the blood red arrow connecting with the planets core and obliterating it instantaneously.

Waves of crimson shockwaves had sped over Oizys, destroying everything in its path, condemning every man, woman and child to oblivion. The ensuing explosion rocked the vast space around the planet as it detonated, not even leaving so much as scorched rubble behind.

His heavy breath was loud and obvious in the nothingness, staring out at the empty black space where the planet used to be. Long ebony hair came to rest from where it had blew back from the aftershocks, the long blue cloak settling around his ankles as his flaming violet aura dissipated into the darkness.

How long he had been floating there, he didn't know. Nor could he find reason to care about how much time had past since he had cast judgement on thousands of souls. Time itself seemed to be lost on him, among many other things.

For _nothing_ seemed to make sense any more.

 **Bleep. Bleep.**

 **Bleep. Bleep.**

He looked down suddenly, fishing his communicator out of his garb pocket, which was flashing an alarming red.

It appeared he was late, again.

He sighed once more, cutting off the transmitter and banishing it to his safe place, "Time to go home, I guess."

No sooner had he spoken did the distant sparkling galaxies light up even more so, as a vibrant tunnel of white light came speeding towards him. The young Destroyer gave the former planet one last look before The Warp engulfed him, the dark abyss reflecting the emptiness in his haunted onyx eyes.

* * *

 _26th October, 2019._

* * *

 _A/N: I sincerely hoped you enjoyed this chapter! It was so much fun to write, especially the Barry scene! So much reference to Super, but with a little twist in the history between Videl and Barry ;) I admit I had a little trouble with the formatting of symbols in this chapter, which was super annoying, but I hope it comes across okay once published with all the hashtags and what not. Though I couldn't get the AT sign to work, which is why Videl666 is underlined. Doh!_

 _The ending with Gohan I think sets up the next chapter nicely. I can't wait for the next instalment! I promise it'll be MUCH more Gohan focussed now. I think this chapter was a little bit more of a calm before the storm so to speak! Thanks for reading!_

 _And a little nod to more greek mythology for those with keen eyes. Planet Oizys refers to to greek goddess Oizys, the goddess of misery, anxiety, grief and depression. I thought it was a good fit!_

* * *

 **Reviews:**

NodMPortant: thank you for your review! Yes definetly I didnt want Videl to stay mad at Gohan for too long. I hope it came across in this chapter, next chapter will have much more Gohan!

MadmanJrs: thank you so much! Im so glad you enjoyed the fight scene, it took so long to write and I was super proud of how it turned out! Yes I really wanted to get Piccolo's POV in there because we havent really seen much of it this story, and I dont want to lose his and Gohan's relationship which I found got lost in the original Buu saga, though was super happy how it picked up in DBS. And you got it! Videl has very much catapulted into this story now, I know a few people dont like her character, but I think she rocks!

hawkeyestratos1996: ahh interesting, Gohan will be getting something a little bit different transformation wise ;)

Knightwing20042 : ha! totally!

Maman-Sofia : haha thank you for your review! The ending of the last chapter was so sad! Which was why I wanted it a bit more humorous this chapter, I hope I did it justice! Glad you enjoyed the fight between Gohan and Beerus!

Ninchfinch : wow thank you so much for your review! It really means a lot!

nataku2709: thank you!

keyblademeister88 : so happy you enjoyed the fight, along with the elements of humour too! Supreme Kai in his bath towel was one of my favourite bits to write haha.

dspendragon125: indeed! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, Id like to think of it as a bit of calm before the storm ;)

alpha : youll have to wait and see!

Iwik: ahh thank you so much! Really pleased you enjoyed the last chapter. I didnt want to make the fight easy for Gohan of course ;) and yes I love Piccolo reminiscing about Gohan, he is much more sentimental than he realises I think! After everything, I really wanted to focus on Videl in this chapter and how shes handling things, along with little snippets of the zfighters mentioned by Chi-Chi. It will be better as set up for further chapters later! Thanks for reading!

Zeromaru Chaos Mode: hehe TFS homages are the best! I couldnt help myself! And Gohan Blanco? haha youll have to wait and see what I do with Gohans new powers later :P

Ushindeshi: ahh, I hoped you got some vibes of whats to come regarding Gohans focus at the end of this chapter :)

fated1990: Yay! Thank you! So glad you liked it!

x2leoj : hmm Id like to say that blue is a bit stronger and therefore more controlled? I guess? Like its the super saiyan version of God so I guess it must be stronger. Ill be honest I dont think were gonna see a broly, at this point I dont think he'll fit in my story! Glad you liked the fight!

DeathReaper1011 : Thanks! xD

super mystic gohan: mwahaha wait and see ;)

Thomas-The-TMC: thank you! TFS FTW!

777torn777: the whole point of the shocking reveal is that Gohan thought that because he was dead he would be unable to have children, like hes dead so how can he create life? But then beerus tells him that its not the same because he is a god. Vegeta doesnt quite get a free pass, its just more shocking to everyone that GOHAN of all people is capable of becoming a destroyer. Totally get where youre coming from with the whole Gohan making sacrafices thing, his family does realise this, only it was all a bit shocking at first. The last chapter was an initial reaction, whereas now we are seeing the aftermath. Hope that helps! :)

Leafeon12: thanks so much, glad you enjoyed the fight! Ah Goku and Vegeta training with Whis? Not quite. ;)

Hek'UnnSkipper: thank you im glad you liked the fight! Yeah their initial reaction wasnt handled so well, but hope its a bit more rectified in this chapter!

Prats 'R' Us: ahh thank you so so much!

Marbbles123: thank you for youre lovely review! Yeah I thought it wouldnt be as believable if Gohan was just all out powerful straight away, he needed to learn and like Super the God power needed to become part of him! Yay! So glad you enjoyed it, I really hope you liked this new chapter just as much!

Whynot : sorry about the wait! and the crying! hope you liked this chapter! :)

Guest : thank you! Sorry youre not digging the Videl stuff, but I love the cannon pairings!

Ninchfinch: ah yes thank you so much! :) I really want to try and stay true to the original characterisation of the show, but with minor differences because of the more tragic circumstances as you quite rightly put it! So happy its coming across! :)

janzen222: praise indeed! Thank you! xD

Pie 555: ah wow thank you so much! haha of course I had to get Gohan's naked butt in their somehow, weve already seen enough of Makhai's! Ahh I know I love Gotenks, he is too funny! I did realise that Gotenks doesnt exist in this story! Because Goku didnt stay dead in otherworld, he didnt learn the fusion technique so couldnt teach it to goten and trunks :O!

GannicusG13 : thank you so much! Yes things are certainly picking up now, this is more of a respite chapter I think. Its just the way its worked out! But I think youll all need it for the next couple of chapters!

FireEmblemMaster101: thank you so much for your review. Yes I appreciate Goku being cool with Beerus and not with Gohan being a Destroyer could come across as a bit odd. But Gohan is GOHAN, his son, someone who has changed significantly since he died. Goku's reaction is an initial one, one full of shock and confusion and horror. I think he is more upset that his son couldnt tell him! Oh yes, in reference to the divine council, they certainly have bigger fish to fry, but Gohan's punishment will become clear in the next chapter so I hope you look forward to that! Really glad you enjoyed the fight, including the humour! Thank you :)

KeynoRules: thanks lovely!

X3runner: thanks for your review, im glad youre liking this version of Videl! As well as the fight between Gohan and Beerus! Ah theres so much goodness to come, but U6 vs U7 tournament will not feature sorry to say. HOWEVER conflict between other universes WILL be features, I just cant reveal how yet ;)

Vukk: Not quite, only Beerus is currently getting his energy drained.

Beepx22: thank you!

Naite-Laef : ah yes THE FEELS! Gohan and Videl are certainly the embodiment of star crossed lovers! Thank you so much, happy you enjoyed everything! I hope you liked this chapter, especially with Videl and Chi-Chi!

jrayeni: ah thank you so much! Glad I could brighten your day! And as for Blue vs Rose... ahhhhh you'll have to wait and see! xD

woodboy : No probs! Videl isnt for everyone, I can appreciate that. Glad you still enjoyed it though!

Green Medley: thank you so much for your review. You expressed Videl's feelings absolutely PERFECTLY! 100 percent of what I was going for with her reaction! The emotional scars, yes, I hope I touched on that with this chapter, especially the end on how Gohan was feeling as business returns as usual so to speak! And yes, Videl does feel the guilt about leading him on, and I get you that they realise that Gohan died for an actual purpose rather than how Goku just left for 7 years cuz he wanted to train! I think you read my mind a lot with this new chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you! :)

Toufeek: aww thank you so much, reviews like yours mean the world to me! Thank you! :)

ARandomGuest: thank you so much! Yes I totally agree with fight scenes, I too often skip over them if it brings not much to the plot at hand, as I find that they can be a little bit boring - so I really tried so hard to not let it get like that, so your observation has made me smile from ear to ear! thank you! And Beerus' back story, oh yes, I am thinking of including a little more on this. There will be a lot more exploration of characters back stories as it continues so I hope you look forward to that! And happy you liked the cheeky wardrobe malfuction! Just had to get that in there! haha I try to balance the emotions as best as I can so that it doesnt get too boring or too silly, so thank you for that too! Really hope you liked this new chapter, I look forward to hearing your thoughts if you have the time! :)

DragonCrusader : away forever indeed... mwahahaha

T51b Moridin : thank you for all your reviews! I hope you continued reading and maybe even got up to this chapter too? haha

ErintheBestest : wow wow wow! thank you so much! That is the best compliment! Thank you, Im so glad you liked the ending, even though yes it was super sad! I know what you mean with putting characters in awkward situations, but I actually find it super fun to write, especially EMOTIONAL PAIN. I am a bit sadistic when it comes to that haha! Absolutely, this chapter in particular made me feel like we are halfway - it may be subject to change. But I felt as though it was quite a natural break before the even bigger dramatics happen. I cant wait to share! xD

Chmia : thank you so much!


	26. To HFIL And Back Again

_**A/N:** Hello all! And welcome back to another episode of SGTD! Thank you so much for all your reviews and love last chapter, it was greatly appreciated as always! I'm so happy that you liked the way Chi-Chi was portrayed last chapter, to me she is often overlooked and under appreciated, and in a lot of fan-fictions she is abrasive and can be depicted as downright cruel. I really wanted to do justice to her character, as a mother who is fiercely protective of her family, but also kind hearted and loving. So Im glad you appreciated her! Thank you! This chapter is a little shorter than the last few at around 12,500 - which, lets face it is probably a normal chapter length lol. However, I thought that it was a good place to end the chapter and because I did so it got this one out a bit quicker for you. Due to my injury Ive had more time to work on this story, and I have to say that I'm really enjoying writing these next couple of chapters! _

_I really want to keep exploring the world of dragonball and keep building it in this story, but it does have meaning, everything will come together in the end - trust me! I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter, I had SO MUCH fun writing it - probably a little too much in some regard (you'll see). Parts a much more light hearted than the last few chapters, I hope it's a nice break away from the angst. But you'd better believe those feels are catching! I have to give a big shout out to my wonderful friends Nyx and Chosen To Die, as I told them about the ideas for this chapter months ago and it had us in stitches! Hope you enjoy :)_

 _Lotsa love, ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Six**

 **To HFIL And Back Again**

 **xxxx**

 **Lord Beerus' Planet, A Far Away Dimension, The Living World.**

"Ah! There you are Gohan, I was wondering where you had gotten to! You almost missed lunch!"

Whis' cheerful tone echoed around the grand dining chamber as soon as he arrived. Rows of floating candles levitated in midair, their flames flickering in motion as the large oak doors swung shut behind him, casting dark shadows on the blue stone walls and the high rising archways that were held in place by giant knotted tree roots. The melting wax dripped onto the long table from above, which strained underneath the mountainous feast laid out before Lord Beerus.

The God of Destruction was already seated in his throne at the head of the table, his beetle black eyes surveying the young saiyan intently as he sighed.

"Planet Oizys has been destroyed as planned, along with all of its inhabitants," he informed them dully, bypassing his own throne and collecting up a plate.

Whis and Lord Beerus shared a look which went unnoticed by the halfling as he picked at a few morsels of food.

"I see," his mentor observed, "Well, good work. The Oizyians have been slaughtering numerous species on their neighbouring worlds for generations, any more and they would have most certainly upset the universal balance."

Gohan all but shrugged, not looking them in the eye as he piled up his plate. He paused suddenly, frowning at a towering stack of rectangular blocks next to a purple-fruited cake, still cool and wrapped in neat packaging with unmistakably Earthling ingredients printed on to the label.

"Ah yes," Whis informed him with a bashful chuckle, following his gaze, "The last of the food that I procured from our trip to Planet Earth. Unfortunately, the hundreds of boxes I picked up were _not_ full of the ice-cream that Lord Beerus liked so much but in fact something called butt- _er_. Incredibly sickly, should you eat one whole."

The halfling thought for a moment, before shrugging to himself and grabbing half a dozen blocks, stuffing them in the pocket of his garb.

"Do sit down, my boy," The Angel implored again, his azure eyes giving him a once over, "You're working to push your body past its limits during your training, at least sit and rest at mealtimes."

"I'll take it to my chamber, thanks," the teenager replied cooly, before spinning on his heel and exiting the room without another word.

"I'll meet you on the meadow in ten takks!" Whis called, though was met with the harsh sound of the gargantuan doors slamming shut behind him.

"Oh dear," he said, staring after him, "I do hate seeing him like this."

"It's his own stupid fault!" Lord Beerus spat in annoyance, stabbing his fork into the large slab of meat on his plate, "We _warned_ him not to get too close to that damned Earthling girl! And did he listen?! NO! And _now_ look what's happened!"

The Angel sighed, "He is broken hearted, my Lord."

"Broken hearted?! _Broken hearted_?!" The Destroyer guffawed, spit flying from his mouth, "I'll give him something to be broken hearted about! Mainly, the destruction of the entire cosmos if he doesn't get that lazy, good-for-nothing backside of his into gear and stop pining over some mortal harlot like a love-sick puppy!"

"He is making _some_ effort, Lord Beerus," Whis reasoned, "Although I understand your concerns. I was hoping that he would have mastered the power of the Super Saiyan God by now, but it appears that he is too distracted."

"Well he cannot afford to be _distracted_! When is it going to get through to that thick skull of his?" Lord Beerus spouted, throwing his hands up in the air out of exasperation, "As if things couldn't get any worse and he has to go and sire a _demigod_. It's a good job that we insisted he stay put on our world during his hearing, else he would been strung up by the other Gods completely! I have no doubt that he would have lost his temper with the things the Divine Council were saying about his mindless escapades, and we would have been an even bigger laughing stock than we already are!"

He paused, abandoning his meal in order to rub his temples in frustration, "Have they gotten back to you yet about the outcome of the council?"

Again, Whis sighed heavily, "Not yet, my Lord. Though I doubt it will be much longer, you did give them a few suggestions that I think they found most suitable. Although I must say that some of your ideas were rather… controversial."

"Like I give a damn," he snarled, "Really, the brat should be counting his blessings that it's taking so long to dish out his punishment what with Zamasu playing hide-and-seek with the Super Dragonballs."

"Indeed," said Whis, solemnly, "Still no word from that either I'm afraid. The Supreme Guard have had no luck finding but a whiff of Zamasu. And Perses' power only grows stronger."

"Don't I know it," Lord Beerus glowered, stifling a yawn as he continued bitterly, "Even so, we can't afford to dawdle. Especially not with my… _declining condition_. You'd better make sure that the boy steps it up, for his own sake as well as everyone else's."

Whis nodded dutifully, as the Destroyer gave the impression that there was no more to be said on the matter, tucking into his meal with impressive gusto. "I'll make sure to remind him, my Lord."

* * *

Gohan panted harshly, spitting out a hefty wad of blood and saliva onto the disturbed earth as his mentor's sceptre cracked him in the ribs once more.

The raging power of the Super Saiyan God spread through his veins like wildfire, as his crimson aura burst to life around his muscular frame. The hilt of the Z-Sword glinted in the dim light of the growing dusk that swept the planet from where it rested in the scabbard upon his back, though he hadn't been given many a opportune moment to use it in this fight. His ceremonial garb was in tatters, billowing around him as he leapt out of the way of another one the Angel's brutal strikes.

Whirling around in midair, the young saiyan hurtled back towards his opponent, aiming to drive a deadly spinning kick to his temple, before his leg was swiftly caught out of the air with ease. His dark red mane blew backwards from the force as Whis flung him across the meadow with an effortless flare of his Ki.

Gohan landed roughly on his backside, his fiery aura dissipating for the third time that training session as he struggled to maintain his form. He snarled as he picked himself up from the ground, glaring at his mentor whose features remained stoic, his robes still in pristine condition and completely unharmed.

Granted, the halfling had never managed to land a hit on the Angel in all of the years he had trained under him. Whis' movements were fluid and unpredictable, forever leaving Gohan in awe of how strong he must be, for he had never once seen the deity break a sweat. However, the teen was a lot more winded than usual, the sweat dripping from his brow and cuts and grazes decorating his body, along with a rather nasty bruise to his left eye. And it was all too clear to his opponent that he was being -

"Sloppy," Whis stated, aqua eyes surveying him in disapproval from across the now crater-littered meadow, "This just won't do. I would have thought with this new divine power that it would be easier for you to find balance within yourself. But you are _still_ overthinking your movements, and yet not enough when you become frustrated. Ideally, what you want is for each and every part of your body to respond and move of its own accord, and to do that you need to fully immerse yourself in your training so that movement becomes instinctual."

"I'm _trying_ ," said Gohan, unable to hide the scathing inclination in his tone as he struggled to steady his breath, his muscles screaming in protest from overuse.

The blue-skinned deity cut across him, pursing his lips, "If you were _seriously_ trying, my boy, then you would be seeing improvement at a much faster rate. I know that you're capable of more than this. Do I need to remind you of what's at stake?"

"I know what's at stake!" The teenager spouted, his voice rising suddenly and unexpectedly before he could stop himself, "I-It's just hard!"

Whis frowned, "I trust that you wouldn't find it so difficult if you stopped wallowing, Gohan."

"I am not _wallowing_!"

"Oh really?" He said pointedly, giving him an incredulous stare, before tapping his staff on what was left of the singed grass.

Much to Gohan's bewilderment, a pair of holograms materialised before him, showing what could only be described as pictures of a bomb site, filled with heaps of discarded clothes and other paraphernalia, along with piles of rotting litter.

"Here are two holograms," Whis continued, as the teen saiyan gave him an odd look, "One is a depiction of the largest dumping ground in the South-East Galaxy, the other is your bed chamber. Now tell me, which one is the dumping ground?"

He frowned, giving the holograms a long hard look, before gesturing to the one on the left, "That one."

His mentor's eyes grew fierce, "They are **_both_** your bed chamber."

The young Destroyer cringed. _Damn it, he was good. He should have seen that one coming_.

Though before he could open his mouth to retort, did the damning pictures dissipate into thin air, and Whis was upon him again.

"I understand that you're upset," he started, floating closer towards him, "But time isn't affordable to us. It doesn't help that you're not sleeping or eating properly. That lunch you took to your chambers earlier was barely a scratch on what you usually eat, and that isn't going to help with providing you with the sufficient energy to train. It is _basic_ biology."

The halfling said nothing, though he was unable to ignore just how much Whis sounded like his father at that moment.

 _Remember son, a true Super Saiyan eats everything on his plate!_

He suddenly felt incredibly small, an aching feeling of guilt gnawing at his insides as his father's voice echoed deep within his memories.

"You're practically a grown man now Gohan, you should know better," The Angel sighed, "Now that's enough training for today. I think that you should get an early nights sleep and we will resume our spar tomorrow."

Gohan was so shocked that he fell out of his transformation, his crimson hair and eyes returning back to black. "What?! Y-You're sending me to _bed_?!"

"Yes. And if I find the lights on in there then I will be _very_ disappointed," Whis quipped, giving him a stern look that stared him out, "Now off you pop."

He scowled, though reluctantly did as he was told as his mentor replenished both the meadow and himself with a quick wave of his sceptre, restoring his garb back to its former glory. The young saiyan let out a frustrated sigh on the long walk back to his quarters, feeling no rush to fly or teleport. The vast array of swirling galaxies now standing out against the early evening sky, casting his shadow on the twisted stone-flagged path that led to the knotted roots of the world-eclipsing tree.

Years ago, after been chosen for the role of Junior Destroyer, he was offered his own much grandeur bedroom in the ancient palace. But the halfling had always felt more comfortable in the old quarters that he had shared with his friends when he had first arrived on the planet as a rookie recruit.

That all seemed like so long ago now.

Even though the beds in the boys dorm were empty save for his, Gohan liked the glorious views of the planet from the enormous window, as well as the cosy common room and the extensive library that it housed. He would sit for hours next to the roaring blue fire, filling his head with all sorts of universal literature, history and languages.

But right now, he could think of a million other places he would rather be. He already felt so suffocated, and spending the rest of the night stuck in his quarters at his mentor's orders was only going to make him feel worse. So instead, he diverted his path, stalking past the arched entranceway that led to the dark tunnels underneath the tree and made his way through the ancient courtyard.

His boots drummed on the cobbles as he weaved through the thick maze of the scared garden, bypassing the stone depictions of the ancient Destroyers of the past, who now appeared imposing and intimidating in their stature. It felt as though their empty, stone eyes were following him as he turned his back towards them, judging him almost.

The amber sky was getting steadily darker, though it could have been due to the fact that the shrubbery and trees grew wilder and less tamed as he continued in his stride, blocking out the budding stars that began to shine more brightly in the purplish twilight.

The atmosphere was painted with streaks of violet and gold, his shadow growing ever bolder upon the path, whose mosaic pattern was now interwoven by a spiderweb of crumbling cracks as he delved deeper into the abandoned trees.

 _"Um, excuse me, where do you thing you're going?"_

Gohan rolled his eyes, directing his annoyance towards the sword on his back, "I'm going to train."

 _"I thought Whis told you that you needed to rest,"_ Z reprimanded wisely, _"We got our arses kicked out there, or didn't you notice?"_

"Of course I did," the halfling said matter of factly, a deep frown encompassing his features as he ducked under a large tree branch that blocked his path, "Which is why I'm going to train, so that I _don't_ keep getting my arse repeatedly kicked."

The relic sighed in disdain, _"Well, suit yourself. But all I'm saying is that Angel-face has a point, you should really listen to your elders sonny boy."_

Gohan chose not to reply, instead only the sound of his boots crunching on the fallen dead leaves filled the air.

 _"You should do as he says, you're already in enough trouble as it is."_

"Yes, _thank you_ Z, I have noticed," he shot back, causing the Z-Sword to huff.

 _"There's no need for sarcasm lad,"_ he told him firmly, _"If you ask me, this so called 'training' you have planned tonight is just a rouse. You're only going to end up staring off into space thinking about Videl again, like you do_ ** _every_** _night might I add."_

The teenager stopped cold, the mere mention of the girl was enough to completely knock him off his feet, although he managed to hold his ground. A horrible pang rippled across his chest, a sinking feeling hitting the pit of his stomach, and before he knew it he had whipped his head around to face the hilt of the sword, an angered snarl leaving his lips.

"Well nobody asked you!" He spat, his skin prickling with a surge of sudden anger.

 _"I was just saying - "_

"Well _don't_!" He growled, the words springing from his lips before he could stop himself, "Can't you act like a normal sword for a change and _not_ speak to me?! I'm fed up of you constantly in my ear!"

His harsh tone echoed around the dishevelled garden, a creak of rotting branches swaying in the aftermath of his outburst.

The young Destroyer recoiled, immediately regretting his words. But it was too late, as Z's solemn sigh reached his ears -

 _"If that's what you want."_

"W-Wait! Z - !" Gohan started, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean - !" But it was futile.

"Z?"

Nothing.

He sighed, running a hand through his long hair out of frustration as he received no reply. _Great, now not even the ancient relic wanted to talk to him._

He didn't mean to take out his anger on Z, far from it, but lately he had been struggling to keep his emotions in check. It was frustrating, as it was the very reason why his concentration was lapsing in training. Still, he didn't want to admit it, even though the Z-Sword had hit the nail on the head. That the cause of his unconscious self-sabotage was because of the overwhelming sorrow that threatened to engulf him. And as the days, weeks and months sped by, it wasn't getting any easier.

He knew that he shouldn't let it be so debilitating, for there was way too much at stake. The inevitable battle for the cosmos was drawing ever closer, but all the halfling could focus on right now was just how _empty_ he felt. It gnawed and twisted unpleasantly at his insides, no matter how much he tried to ignore it. And every time he closed his eyes, all he could picture was _her_.

He briefly wondered, that if they got through this turmoil and he took up the mantle of Destroyer, would he remember what she looked like as the centuries, _millennia_ passed? Though he knew, he _knew_ that he would never forget those eyes. Those beautiful sapphire orbs that shone into his soul and lit up his entire world, even if the time that they had gazed upon him was only brief.

Nor could he forget the hurt, the anger within them when his true nature had been revealed, and she had realised that he had lied to her. To _everyone_.

He had thought that by not telling them, that he had been protecting them. Though in reality, he had only been protecting himself. And what was it worth? For he had only put the lot of them in danger, escaping Lord Beerus' wrath by the skin of their teeth. It was more than evident that they had gotten off lightly, himself included. His punishment for his _indiscretion_ had yet to be decided, owing to the fact that the cosmos probably had more pressing matters to deal with at present than figure out what to do about the future emergence of an infant born with divine power.

Uncertainty had been his salvation, for Whis had informed him that no one knew what would become of the child, and that only time itself would tell. There wasn't much that the Gods could do about it, until then. Still, Gohan had unashamedly pleaded with his superiors to uphold their promise and insist that only _he_ was to blame for this predicament. Lord Beerus had banned him from attending the hearing with the Divine Council after all, and he didn't blame him. He had let Whis and Lord Beerus down just as much as everyone else.

Whatever the case, the teenager didn't care what happened to him, no matter how harsh the punishment. He didn't care what the Gods did to him, as long as she… _they_ were safe.

Yet the notion that he was going to become a father barely registered, because the reality was that he would never get to be one. He was bound to the Destroyers world, and fated to forever wonder what would become of the life he had created. Would it be a son? A daughter? Would they inherit the dark eyes of their father and grandmother? Or look upon the Earth they resided on with dazzling pools of blue like their mother?

What would they become?

So many questions barrelled through in his mind, though only one thing was certain, in that not even the entire universe would mend the shattered pieces of his heart that Videl had left behind.

He stopped as soon as he came to a clearing, devoid of plush foliage and instead beheld a patch of cold dirt framed by closely woven branches that creaked and shuddered in the unfurling wind. Barren of leaves, it exposed the rotting bark and twisted roots that looked like thick gnarled fingers knotted together. The only thing that seemed to grow here were the clumps of stinging nettles and weeds, left unattended and therefore able to wildly flourish when absent of keen eyes.

His boots crunched on the mass of twigs that snapped like brittle bones underneath his weight, his eyes darting above him momentarily, taking note of how the entangled mass of dead trees almost blocked out the view of the sky above. The stars and distant galaxies just peeking out of the small gaps where the branches had thinned, bathing the empty clearing with sporadic patches of silver.

Gohan sighed heavily, deciding that he had come far enough. Unclipping his scabbard, he wrenched the silent Z-Sword out of the leather casing and sunk it into the hard earth, discarding his long blue cloak and hanging it over the hilt.

To hell with what Z thought, he growled to himself bitterly, quashing the haunting memories of the blue eyed girl and stretching out his muscles that were now exposed to the cool night air. Determined not to fall victim to the inner workings of his chaotic mind, the young saiyan disregarded the relic's warnings and set to work. If anything, hoping that by exhausting himself physically, it would do at least _something_ to quell the tempest that raged within him.

Already warmed up from his spar with Whis, the young Destroyer allowed the Divine power of the Super Saiyan God to take hold of his form once more. A dazzling crimson light lit up the forest clearing, chasing away the darkness to the shadows of the lifeless trees that surrounded him. His hair wavered from the influx of Divine energy before turning from black to red, his dark eyes following suit.

Breathing deeply, Gohan concentrated, stilling his centre as well as his mind, before unleashing a heated flurry of swift kicks and punches at the air in front of him. Imagining a faceless enemy, the half-saiyan charged forwards, his boots skidding and upheaving the dirt behind him, before he followed up in his attack and delivered a perfect spinning kick to his opponent's jaw. Which to his dismay only made contact with a nearby tree, splintering the already wilted bark on impact.

Closing his eyes, he focussed more clearly, allowing a fake image of a shadowy figure to spring forth into his mind. Image training was something that Krillin had taught him many years ago on the way to Planet Namek, and was an incredibly useful technique to mentally practice conquering a foe. Though Gohan had taken this a step further since he had first arrived on the Destroyers world, choosing to physically mirror the fight occurring in his mind inside of taking up a meditative pose. It was one of the ways that had helped him to master his super saiyan two transformation so quickly.

Leaping out of the way of his imaginary opponent that had suddenly phased in front of him, the halfling sprang into the offensive, feeling the Godly energy surging through him as he launched an uppercut to the shadow's gut.

His muscles groaned in protest as the fictional spar continued late into the night. Though Gohan refused to give up just yet, ignoring the throbbing tension of knots in his back and shoulders, his fiery aura flickering in and out of existence.

"Damn it!" The teenager cursed, his heavy fist driving into the dirt instead of the ghostly figure's face.

He was getting tired, he knew that, the transformation draining his stamina. But he didn't feel as though he was close to mastering his new form just yet. And alas, it was only making him grow more and more impatient, his exhaustion and frustration getting the better of him.

Wrenching his fist out of the newly formed crater that much resembled over a dozen more that littered the area, Gohan spun on his heel to face his shadowy foe once more -

 _"What's the matter, Son Gohan? Struggling to keep up?"_

The halfling snarled, his imagination running too wild for it's own good, adrenaline pumping rapidly through his veins as he stared down the unmistakable image of Perses.

He stood across from him mockingly, donned in the ceremonial garb of a Junior Destroyer like he had seen depicted in stone years ago. His young, handsome face grinned back, though the rest of his body was draped in dark shadows.

Gohan said nothing, instead balling up his fists as he catapulted himself towards him, his punch connecting forcefully with the demigod's cheek. Though, to his annoyance, it all but knocked the evil being's head slightly to the side, and prompted him to unleash a howl of raucous laughter.

The cold, dissonant sound grated in his ears as the imaginary Perses smirked cruelly, _"_ ** _Pathetic_** _."_

He growled, retaliating by delivering a striking gut-punch and booting the corrupted menace away from him. Gohan watched with satisfaction as the demigod's back hit the ground with a loud crash, a cascade of dark blood spewing from his lips.

Though to his displeasure, the shadow in his mind picked itself back up all to easily, licking the blood away from his mouth, seemingly enjoying the taste. And it unnerved him.

 _"How disappointing,"_ Perses chuckled darkly, _"It appears that you aren't all you cracked up to be, Destroyer. It's unfortunate that your arrogance was just self-assured, and here was me thinking that you would actually be worth slaughtering."_

"S-Shut up," He spat into the darkness, though the ghost of his nightmare all but laughed cruelly in his mind.

 _"If only you would give into the beast inside of you,"_ the shadow told him, _"Then you would see what you are truly capable of. Oh yes, you would no doubt see that you are not so different from me…"_

"I said SHUT UP!" The halfling roared, his barbarous tone rushing through the looming trees as he kicked off from the ground and hurtled towards Perses once more, crimson flames engulfing his body as he went.

His oncoming shin was abruptly caught out of the air by long green fingers, and it was with a tremor of quivering shock did he realise that his imaginary opponent had all but morphed into -

 _"It's like I said,"_ Zamasu glowered, cold grey eyes glinting with malice as he held his leg in a vice grip, _"Your crimes are far worse than our own."_

Berating himself, he fell out of his transformation, unable to hold on to it any more as his hair and eyes returned back to black. He collapsed to the ground, the image of Gowasu's apprentice striking him into the dirt. Gohan cursed his stubborn and wearied mind, for all it was doing was springing forth a bombardment of negative emotions that proved impossible to ignore.

This was dangerous.

He knew all too well of his rookie mistake, as unfortunately image training did not come without consequence if one abused it. Krillin had warned him of such before he had showed him the technique. For pushing his mind too far past the limits of exhaustion could cause vivid hallucinations, mainly conjured up from places in his subconscious that he had pushed aside - like nightmares. If it continued, it could cause madness, seizures and even in extreme cases death.

He _knew_ he had to break out of his psyche, but he just couldn't focus. The damning depictions of his mind were far too overwhelming! Growling at his own stupidity, the young saiyan clambered back to his feet, attempting to ignore the echo of Zamasu's snide voice.

 _"After all, death and devastation is widely accepted as long as it does not affect the universal balance, correct? And if it is threatened then it is only met with more destruction…"_

Whirling around, the demon in his head was met with a sickening elbow strike to the face, sending the shadowy fiend flying backwards through the mass of trees. They were far away from the clearing now, though Gohan failed to register just how he had made it out this far. Instead, he snarled, feeling the ebbing fury of the super saiyan form bubbling underneath the surface of his skin, ready to force it forwards and blast the imaginary Kai right in the face.

Though as soon as he approached the shadow, did his mind once again bring forth another haunting memory -

 _"You should have just told me!"_ his father cried from where he lay on the ground, broken pieces of rotted bark strewn out around him from the aftermath of the teenager's hit.

"D-Dad -," he gasped, his blood running cold and panic gripping him, stumping his transformation completely as the shadowy portrayal of his father suddenly phased in front of him.

 _"How many?!"_ Goku snarled, his obsidian eyes sharpened in betrayal and anger, " _How many planets -_ ** _people_** _Gohan?! How many did you slaughter?!"_

"Dad I-I - !" Gohan croaked, his tongue suddenly felt heavy and twisted, tears stinging at the corners of his vision, "I-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

 _"_ ** _LEAVE!_** _"_

He fell to his knees, as the shadow warped and in his father's place stood Videl. Her words cutting through him like a knife as she toward above him, her beautiful features twisted with disgust and hatred.

"Videl -" He whispered, a lone tear falling freely down his cheek. Imaginary or not, the agony he felt was far too real.

A sharp pain rippled across his skull, causing the halfling to cry out, grasping thick handfuls of his hair in his fists. _Make it stop. Please make it stop!_

 _"Y-You're not a boy -!"_

No, not **_him_**. Not - !

Fuchsia eyes glowed, burning right through him as they locked with his, the shadow now leering right over him.

" _You're a_ ** _monster_** _!"_

Gohan screamed, as his hair stood on end, swiftly turning to gold as he exploded with power and anguish. Lightening bolts rippled across his frame, striking the ground and cracking the dirt apart at his knees. Mud, rubble, tree roots and rotting forest debris swirled and encircled his rapidly growing aura as his entire body shuddered with power. Golden strings of light lit up the night sky, shielding his vision - that was already blurred from tears - before his hard emerald eyes settled on the tall figure that had seemingly appeared right before him.

His heart caught in his throat for a split second as he recognised Perses, who was now solid unlike the image in his mind. That was, until he realised with relief that he had somehow wound up directly in front of the unkempt statue of the disgraced Junior Destroyer, and certainly not the real thing.

The halfling couldn't comprehend just how he had ended up so deep in the sacred gardens at that moment, as his despairing emotions got the better of him, and he was unable to stifle the intense feeling of hatred that rose like bile in his throat. It stewed and festered until it spread, twisting and coiling inside of him until -

 **KA-BOOM!**

Gohan panted as the vibrant light from the blast subsided, his arms falling back to his side as wisps of his now dark hair fell about his fevered cheeks. Letting go of his wrath as well as his transformation. He swore under his breath, as he realised that forested area around him was completely devastated. Smouldering remnants of broken bark turning to ash beneath his feet. No doubt Whis and Lord Beerus would have heard _that_ one, and he was certain that the building column of smoke could be seen from the palace windows.

Speaking of smoke, he watched silently with dark awaiting eyes as the blackened clouds unfurled in front of him and cleared away. The finely powdered dust left over from the impact appeared to pull together, moulding and morphing back into solid stone before the statue of Perses reformed fully without a scratch. Taunting him.

"I told you that the statues of the old Gods cannot be destroyed, young one."

The teenager almost jumped a mile at the sudden voice, spinning on his heel and locking eyes with an all too familiar face.

"Though you made good work of attempting to blow a hole in the planet, I'll give you that," said the Oracle, chuckling lightly at the guilty look on his face, "Do not worry too much, perhaps you could entice Whis to grow another bed of Ananke roses now that you've cleared the majority of the overgrowth."

He averted his gaze away from the little blue fish, the golden staff that held up her fishbowl glistened in the starlight that shone from the large gap in the trees that Gohan had created. He chose to say nothing, the silence broken only by the slight slosh of water against the rim of the bowl as she floated closer towards him.

"Now I know that I may be all-seeing," she pressed, resting her small fins upon the rim, "But even a blindman could see that you didn't come all the way out here just to do a spot of gardening."

She paused for effect, perhaps in the hopes that he would acknowledge her small joke. But when he gave no answer, she sighed, "It has been many years since you have ventured this far out into the sacred garden of souls forgotten. Your mind is more troubled now than when we first met."

"A lot has changed since then," he mustered quietly, sitting himself down on a fallen log that had miraculously survived the explosion. Silently, the Seer followed him.

" _You_ haven't," she told him after a small beat of silence, prompting him to look towards her, "I still see that same curious boy who appeared on the Destroyers world eight years ago, armed with a righteous heart and a bright head on his shoulders, and a strong sense to prove his worth."

Gohan regarded her wordlessly as she smiled, reaching out a fin to tap him lightly on the hair, "He's still in there, somewhere. Just lost."

He swallowed thickly, looking back down at his calloused hands that were now covered in mud and sharp scratches from training, "I don't think anything will ever be the same again. I-I've disappointed everyone, and now -"

He paused, looking up at the swirling galaxies beyond the atmosphere, the myriad of startling colours reflecting in his deep onyx eyes. The weight on his shoulders seemed to increase tenfold - if that was at all possible, staring out at the very universe that he was responsible for from the broken log on Lord Beerus' planet. A planet that, one day, he was set to inherit.

"D-Do you think… do you think that it'll be okay?"

His words could have had a million and one connotations, but the Oracle Fish seemed to pick up on exactly to what he was referring to.

"Still so full of questions," she sighed, giving him a small yet sorrowful smile, "Questions that I do not have the answers to."

The teenager couldn't help but snort, attempting to cover up his sadness, "I thought you said that you were 'all-seeing'?"

The Seer pursed her lips, though thought better than to push it, "There is a saying that time can heal all wounds. Though some run much deeper than others."

He scoffed, resting his chin in his hand, "Whoever said that is full of crap."

"You'd do well to mind your tongue, young Lord," she frowned, offended, " _I_ am the one who said that I'll have you know!"

Gohan shrugged, "Well, I'm just saying…"

The Oracle harrumphed, folding her little fins in disapproval as silence engulfed the pair once more. After a while, he could feel the fish's gaze upon him again, but decided to ignore her, instead finding a charcoaled twig and absentmindedly tracing circles in the dirt with the end.

"Do you know why it is forbidden for Gods to be with mortals?"

 ** _Snap._**

The twig in his grasp snapped harshly in two as he stiffened at the Seer's question, his breath hitched as she asked again.

"Do you know why the Gods are banned from taking wives or husbands? Or why they are prohibited of procreation from their own seed or womb?" Her eyes beheld him firmly, as he finally looked towards her, "It is a notion that has existed long before Perses came to be, though it was not always punished so severely before the potential dangers of a demigod became well-known. Either way, it was gravely frowned upon, can you imagine why that might be, Gohan?"

The halfling paused, before shaking his head, "Not really." In all honesty, he wasn't entirely sure what she was getting at.

"It is so that they will not love," she told him, "For love is the death of duty."

He remained silent, as the Seer quirked again, "What do you think your father would do, for example, if he was forced to choose between his honour to the universe and therefore his duty to protect it, or those he loves?"

At her words, it was though a flash occurred in his mind, springing forth the haunting memory vividly, as though it was happening right before his eyes, there upon the smouldering dirt.

 _The dust harshly invaded his pupils as the rapid winds blew back the long spikes of golden hair away from his face. Stinging with grit, tears of frustration and anger prickled at the corners of his eyes, his hands and knees colliding roughly with the ground as he pounded his fists on the hardened earth, cracking it apart on impact._

 _He had failed._

 _Cell's laughter rang cruelly in his ears - mocking him, taunting him as he bulged to a colossal size. The wicked monster towered above him, blocking out the hot May sun and engulfing the preteen in his shadow._

 _"Ten more seconds and the Earth will be gone!" Cell bellowed smugly, unable to contain his sadistic mirth at the sight of the fallen boy at his feet, "I suppose we'll call the Game a_ ** _draw_** _!"_

 _Gohan gritted his teeth, unable to bring himself to stare his inevitable doom in the face. He stared hopelessly at his hands that were scrunched up so tightly that his fingernails drew welts of crimson blood from his palms._

 _The laughter continued to grate heavily on his every nerve as Cell's mesh of combined Ki climbed and climbed to beyond dangerous heights. A bombardment of dust clouds swept across the wasteland, and he could no longer hear the screams and shouts of his friends over the roaring winds that threatened to blow him away at any moment._

 _And then it happened in an instant. A displacement in the air and the sound of large boots tapping on the ground in front of him._

 _Gohan looked up finally, all kinds of shocked and confused, his bloodshot green eyes widening at the sight of his father standing boldly between him and the bulbous Cell. Goku's super saiyan hair wavered in the hurricane, though his stare was focused and determined. Two fingers lingered on his forehead from where he had performed his instant transmission technique, and Gohan watched with uncertainty as the man placed his other hand on Cell's protruding belly._

 _The bug-like monster appeared just as bewildered as he was, though before the boy could open his mouth to ask just what on Kami's great Earth his father was playing at, did the saiyan in question incline his head towards him._

 _"Hey," said Goku, his voice so calm and quiet as he beheld him. He didn't understand, was his father trying to sooth him? Had he teleported to his side so that they would die together?_

 _He had half expected him to shout and scream, berate him for not listening. For all this could have been avoided if he had just_ ** _listened_** _and finished Cell off when he had the chance! Now the entire Earth would fall victim to his mistake, and Mum, Dad, Grandpa, Piccolo, Krillin…_ ** _everyone_** _would perish along with it._

 _Though instead his father smiled, brightly almost, his fingers unmoving from their position above his brow. And suddenly, Gohan got a very bad feeling._

 _"You put up a good fight, Gohan," Goku told him, still smiling, "I'm so proud of you."_

 _"W-What?" He blundered, his voice croaking. Though whether or not it was due to the amount of dust particles he had inhaled or the sudden tightness in his chest, he didn't know._ _"_ _D-Daddy?"_

 _He hadn't referred to the man as 'daddy' in a couple of years now, deeming himself far too old to be calling his father as such. Though in that moment the word spewed from his lips before he could even process it._

 _He caught the sparkle in his father's eyes as his childish tone drifted between them, though it was quickly replaced by a hint of sadness, and a longing that he couldn't quite put his finger on._

 _Until -_

 _"Tell your mother that I'm sorry. Tell her that I had to do this, Gohan."_

 _What?! The halfling panicked, his eyes frantic and pleading, as Goku looked upon him one last time. No! Surely he couldn't be - !_

 _"Goodbye, my son."_

 ** _NO!_**

 _He lurched forwards in desperation, his heart pounding rapidly in his ears. Though just as he reached for the tattered orange fabric of his father's gi, did his fingers meet nothing but air. His wretched scream howled in place of the high winds, as Goku and Cell had indeed, disappeared completely._

Of course, it was more than obvious to Gohan that his father had been brought back with the Namekian dragonballs shortly after his own death. Even still, the man had taken a gamble. Shenron did not have the power to bring back people from the realms of The Otherworld multiple times, whereas Porunga did. It was lucky that they were able to even find New Planet Namek in the first place, and that Dende was more than willing to become Earth's Guardian and make them a new set of dragonballs to boot. Else _no one_ that Cell had murdered would have been able to come back to life.

Though despite the uncertainty around his resurrection, his father had sacrificed himself without hesitation. There was no fear or trepidation in his eyes from what Gohan could remember from that fateful day, just pride and adoration for the son whose mistake he had been forced to correct.

At the time, the young halfling was unable to think straight in the immediate aftermath of his departure, and didn't know if his father even _could_ return. And by Gods, what if they didn't have the sacred Namekian wishing orbs to fall back on? He would have been gone forever. Left his friends to mourn for years to come, left his wife and son… _sons_ even. What if he had never gotten to meet Goten?

Indeed, his father had chosen his duty to protect the Earth above all else, but in turn he had saved all of those he loved.

He swallowed, his mouth dry, shaking himself out of his thoughts, "He would do whatever was right, no matter what."

"Son Goku is one man in ten thousand, I'm sure," The Oracle smiled knowingly, "Others are not so strong. For they would ask what is honour compared to a woman's love? What is duty compared to the feel of a newborn child in your arms? Does it compare to a father's pride? A mother's smile? Or a brother's acceptance?"

"When there is no cost, duty comes to us easy then," she continued, as Gohan looked away again, averting his gaze to his scuffed and dirt laden boots, "But sooner or later, whether in this life or the next, there comes a time where it is not easy. A day where a person must choose."

"So this is my time?" He snapped suddenly, a sickening coil of anger and frustration winding tightly in his gut as he looked sharply back at the Seer, the storm evident in his dark eyes, "Is that what you're saying?! That I just have to move on and forget? Forget Videl and leave her alone and… and _p-pregnant_ on Earth whilst I do nothing but stay here and train because it's my DUTY?!"

"It hurts," she said, "I know it does."

"No! You do _not_ know!" He snarled, getting angrily up from his seat and making to storm away from the wise old fish, putting some distance between them, "You do not know how I _fucking_ feel!"

His calamitous words echoed over the remnants of charcoaled trees, carrying off into the distance and out into the starry night.

Though the Oracle appeared unfazed by his outburst, and spoke calmly, "I do know, Gohan. Because I have seen it."

"W-What?" He fumbled, his anger faltering slightly, whirling back around to face her, "What are you - ?"

"I may reside on this world, young one, but unlike you I am not bound to it," she informed him, "I am free to roam as I please, providing wisdom to those celestial beings who may seek it. I have lived hundreds of billions of years, and through that time I have seen great turmoil and strife, ways that it can be overcome, and ways that it can mean one's downfall. I remember stories of great love and loss, ones filled with undying hatred and others benevolent beauty. I remember a broken hearted Kai of one such beauty, who summoned me one-thousand three-hundred and twenty-one years ago, asking for guidance after leaving her mortal husband and infant son Perses - who was no more than a Tartarian month old."

Gohan blinked, though stood his ground, the starlight eerily lighting up Perses' statue, casting silvery shadows upon the ground.

"Bound to duty and honour, she left the ancient Planet Tartarus for The Sacred Realm of the Kai's for good," the little blue fish sighed, somewhat sadly, "Though had we known what was to become of her son back then, she may have had to give orders to have the boy killed herself."

The young saiyan all but stared, and couldn't help but wonder, "What did you tell her?"

"The same as what I have told you," she replied simply, "It is like I said, there comes a time when we all must make a choice that might be difficult to comprehend for others of weaker nature. Perses too, had a choice. When he died in The Great War of Galaxies, he too had to choose to confront his mistakes in the form of his father in The Otherworld and spend his afterlife there, or become a God. He chose the latter, but he was too angry at the universe around him, and could not find peace within himself. In time, he ignored my warnings should he continue down this path, and I think you know how that turned out."

He nodded bitterly, closing his eyes tightly shut as he let out a shaky breath, attempting to curb the anguish he felt inside of him.

"Only you can choose," the Seer said quietly, "Only you know what is right."

Slowly, he opened his eyes, the dark onyx pools shining in the deep purple night, "But how? How will I know what's right?"

"Remember why you chose to embark on this path, Gohan," she informed him wisely, "Remember who you are."

"But what if I don't _know_ who I am anymore?" He spouted, his voice tight and strained, fighting with himself not to start shouting again, "What if I don't know who I'm supposed to be?!"

"Look deep inside of yourself, young Destroyer," the Oracle Fish stated cryptically, "Only then will you find the answers that you so desperately seek."

"But I don't - ! W-Wait!" Gohan cried out, as she started to float away from him and into the night air, "What does that even mean?!"

Though to his chargin, she didn't reply, instead firing herself into the atmosphere so that her golden staff intermingled with the billions of stars shining above him. The teenager was left helplessly behind, his own silhouette eclipsed by the shadow from Perses' great statue that loomed over him.

He sighed, staring up at the point in the sky where she had disappeared. Deciding to find his sword before he headed back to his chambers, he realised that the Oracle was right, in that he had some incredibly difficult decisions to make.

* * *

"You cannot be serious."

"Oh but I am," Whis chimed, before he quirked an eyebrow at him, "Surely you didn't want a more drastic punishment?"

"Well, no," Gohan replied sheepishly, reaching a hand behind his head, "But I've got to be honest Whis, I was expecting something a little more… I don't know… stabby?"

His mentor blinked, "Stabby, my boy?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "You know, something like being wrapped in chains in the deepest part of the demon realm for a hundred years, being tortured and mutilated by Dabura and his cronies. Mainly with hot pokers, swords, spears… _Stabby_."

"Ah yes, I do see what you mean," said Whis thoughtfully, as the halfling acted out stabbing at the air to emphasise his point, "But that would be impossible Gohan, for Dabura was killed in the conflict with Majin Buu, subsequently causing him to turn over a new leaf. He now resides in the gardens of Otherworld as per King Yemma's discretion."

"Oh right, yeah," he hummed, "I forgot that you mentioned that."

"Though if you would prefer something more _stabby_ , I could always ask the Divine Council to - "

"N-No!" The young saiyan yelped, holding up his hands in defence and cutting his mentor short, "The punishment is fine as it is! I just wasn't expecting something so… mundane? I mean, cleaning HFIL can't be too hard, right?"

He didn't mean to sound ungrateful, not by any means. Though when he had been summoned out of his cesspit of a bedchamber that morning by his mentor informing him that the Divine Council had finally decided on his punishment, he couldn't help the nervous knot from building in his stomach.

However, when he had been told that he would be giving the Home For Infinite Losers or Hell a 'spring clean' as it were every single day until the Council deemed suitable didn't seem all too bad to him. It was more of a slap on the wrists if anything, certainly not what he had been expecting as consequence for him falling in love with a mortal, _laying_ with her multiple times and spreading his 'Divine seed' - definitely their words, not his.

The Divine Council was made up of Gods from the other universes, ones whom he had met before back at Grand Zeno's palace months ago. A mixture of Supreme Kais and Destroyers would make up the panel, casting judgement on many inter-universal issues, which apparently included anything or _anyone_ in this particular case, that broke Divine Law.

In all honesty, it was punishment enough just to hear Whis read out the decree to him in great detail. He could still feel the heated blush on his neck.

The blue-skinned deity pursed his lips in disapproval from across the meadow, the amber sky circling above them, as Gohan attempted to give him an innocent smile back.

"I wouldn't take this assignment lightly, Gohan," said Whis, frowning, "They could have you cleaning HFIL for a millennia, and it is _not_ a place where one would choose to spend a lot of time. It is called Hell for a reason."

"Not only that, you're lucky that it's not a whole lot worse, boy," snarled Lord Beerus, who was relaxing on a sun-lounger several feet away from them, "You should be eternally grateful to the both of us for saving your incompetent backside from condemnation! The _only_ reason that you are still standing here as my successor is because the other Gods were intrigued by this Super Saiyan God transformation - that you still haven't mastered might I add - and that without your little… _misdeed_ such a thing wouldn't have been so easily achievable."

The teenager huffed, folding his arms haughtily across his chest.

"Lord Beerus is right Gohan," his mentor implored, "It is only by the skin of our teeth did we manage to rectify the situation without too much kerfuffle."

"Speak for yourself," scoffed the mighty Destroyer, "I'm never going to hear the end of this from my _idiot_ brother."

Whis sighed, "And I'm afraid that it's only took this long to find a suitable punishment because of this whole mess with Zamasu. Luckily the Gods on the panel agreed that exploring this new form of yours may help in the conflict that is certain to come."

Gohan cringed, feeling guilty. It had been weeks since his talk with the Oracle Fish, and he was still struggling with the Super Saiyan God form. Every time he transformed, he failed to control the Divine power that Lord Beerus had surmised had somehow become a part of him back when he had first achieved it.

However, similar to when he had performed the ritual back on Earth, he couldn't quite get a firm handle on it, like something didn't quite _fit_ right - only now it was much more erratic and unmanageable to maintain for longer periods, despite being able to bring the Divine power to the surface more easily. Unfortunately, this ended up with him slipping out of the form at the most inconvenient moments, subsequently getting his backside handed back to him by his superiors during training. Only adding to his overall frustration. Granted, he hadn't resorted back to image training after last time, and similarly wasn't going to rush into it any time soon.

His lack of success wasn't helpful at all, given the current situation. And the corrupted Kai's disappearance was not only concerning, but deeply disturbing. For they _should_ have found something by now.

"Still nothing at all? Not even any sign of him in other universes? Other dimensions?"

"None whatsoever," the Angel informed him solemnly, "Though all you need to worry about right now is training, and behaving yourself whilst you are in HFIL. If you cause too much trouble there then the council could revoke their decision and dish out something much crueller. You are already walking on thin ice, one more slip up and they might go back to their original idea and have Lord Beerus destroy the Earth, taking the bastard child out with it."

The halfling gritted his teeth, though quickly curbed his anger at the look of warning that his mentor was giving him, "Fine. I'll _behave_."

"Good!" Lord Beerus snapped, "Now hurry up and get out of my sight so that I can finally have a relaxing nap without your insufferable whining."

Gohan shot him a hateful glare, straightening his long blue cloak in preparation to be sent to HFIL, when Whis gasped aloud.

"Oh my! I almost forgot!" He spouted, looking the young saiyan up at down and causing him to frown. Behind him, Lord Beerus' lips beheld a devilish smirk.

"Huh - ?"

He was caught off guard, as Whis waved his staff in an elaborate fashion and his entire body began to glow.

Then, all of a sudden there was a loud **POOF!** as a torrent of white smoke exploded around him, followed by an odd sound that was akin to one of Master Roshi's hentai movies - not that Gohan knew what that sounded like… of course.

 ** _*WOOOOOOOOW!*_**

He coughed loudly as the clouds cleared, and regaining his composure, he suddenly felt _extremely_ uncomfortable. **_Exposed_** , even. For where his Destroyer robes had been nestled suitably around his person, were they replaced by what could only be described as a frilly MONSTROSITY.

It didn't take him more than a split second to realise that he was in a dress, for the cool breeze around his nether regions was all too obvious. The black velvet fabric was _way_ too short to be considered appropriate by any means, barely covering his backside and exposing the bright pink bloomers that hugged his rear all too tightly. The dress was puffed out at the shoulders, whereby trims of white fills adorned the hem, including the short skirt.

The attire was accompanied by a frilly white apron, and a matching headpiece atop his hair - the long ebony locks stuffed into pigtails held in place by large fuchsia bows. Long fishnet stockings, with a white garter strapped around one of his muscular thighs and a black choker necklace around his neck. Much to his despair, a pair of black platformed, high heels completed the outfit, which he nearly toppled over as he shrieked angrily, looking down at himself in horror -

"WHIS! WHAT THE _HELL_?!" He bellowed, "I LOOK LIKE A MAID!"

His mentor's eyes positively sparkled at his masterpiece, seemingly oblivious to the vein throbbing in the half-saiyan's temple as Lord Beerus doubled up with loud, raucous laughter.

"B-Because t-that's - _puff_ \- what y-you - _puff_ \- a-are, brat!" His predecessor howled, struggling to catch his breath as he toppled off the sun-lounger due to laughing so hard, pounding his fist on the ground as he continued to hysterics.

"Oh Gohan, it's not _that_ bad," said Whis, chuckling at the furious look on his bright red face.

"N-Not that _bad_?! NOT THAT _BAD?!_ " Gohan guffawed, "WHIS! I AM WEARING **_WOMEN'S_ _KNICKERS_**!"

To prove his point, the teenager span on his heel - _heels_ \- bent over, and lifted his frilly skirt in the air, exposing himself even further.

"S-Stop!" Lord Beerus cried, clutching his stomach as his laughter continued, tears streaming down his cheeks, "I - can't - _breathe_!"

"Well, you can't possibly go about scrubbing the depths of HFIL wearing the garb of a Junior Destroyer, such a thing is _most_ sacred," Whis implored wisely.

Gohan growled, positively seething as he roughly pulled his dress back down. Not that it did much to cover himself up, mind you.

"Besides," the Angel continued, "It is the second part of your punishment."

"YOU NEVER MENTIONED THERE WAS A SECOND PART!"

"Well we had to come up with _something_ to sway the Divine Council," explained Whis with a heavy sigh, "Though I must say that I didn't think they would go for it. However, Lord Beerus was quite persuasive."

The young saiyan whipped his head around to face the God in question, pigtails flying as he snarled with an unyielding amount of rage, his eyes flashing green, "YOU! This was _YOUR_ idea?!"

"And so what if it was?" Lord Beerus glowered menacingly, wiping the tears from his eyes as he managed to - _finally_ \- calm himself down, floating back to full height as he regarded him, "I don't think that you're in _any_ position to bargain, brat. Much less question the likes of _me_."

He faltered, snapping his mouth shut though still glaring daggers at the God of Destruction.

Whis sighed again, breaking the mounting tension between the Destroyers, "Well if you really don't like it Gohan, I suppose that you don't have to wear it."

"W-What?" The halfling blinked, hopeful, "Really?"

"Certainly," his mentor smiled almost wickedly, "In fact, there is another option. Though it _is_ much more revealing…"

His eyes widened in terror, before he gulped, "Y-You know what. This… this one is f-fine."

"I thought you might say that," Whis grinned, "Now that's all sorted, what's say we deliver you to the Check-In Station, King Yemma is already waiting. All that plumbing won't do itself, you know."

Gohan was left confused, "King Yemma? Plumbing? I thought that you said that I was just cleaning HFIL?"

" _Cleaning_ does not just involve sweeping and dusting, my dear boy," the blue-skinned deity explained, "Far from it. No, your first task is to sort out the plumping in The Otherworld and it's surrounding dimensions. I am led to believe that it started with a rather severe blockage in King Yemma's private bathroom."

The young saiyan paled considerably, as Lord Beerus tossed him an oversized plunger that was just as tall as he was.

"Have fun," the Destroyer smirked, as Whis gave him a small wave.

"We'll see you at dinner, Gohan!"

Before he could protest any further, he was engulfed by the bright light of The Warp that catapulted him into another dimension. Lord Beerus' laughter ringing in his ears.

* * *

 **The Bloody Pond. Area 1, Sector 3. Home For Infinite Losers.**

Oh how the mighty had fallen.

No truer words had been spoken, in his opinion. Though all things considered, he would take all kinds of gruesome torture over _this_. For the first time in these last several months, he was actually relieved that Videl of all people couldn't see him, especially in such a mortifying predicament.

This was _humiliating_.

Though perhaps not nearly as much as having to explain to King Yemma as to why there was suddenly a hole in his palace wall. The King of Ogres, of course, given Gohan's high status didn't appear to mind in the slightest, even grovelling to _him_ for the unseemly mess that _he_ had created by decking one of his attendants through the temple's towers - subsequently sending the entire structure collapsing into rubble.

Not only had this caused a backlog of souls waiting to be judged - the line reaching far along Snake-Way, the young saiyan had to then help rebuild half the Check-In Station.

Alright so _maybe_ he had overreacted a little. Though he did not think that his punch was unjustified, as the ogre in question had been bold enough to give his rear a cheeky spank whilst he was busy scrubbing whatever foul germs had infested King Yemma's toilet with a gigantic loo brush. Already trying not to gag from the stench, the halfling nearly brought up his breakfast when he realised what had just happened.

In all fairness, the disgusting brute had better be counting his lucky stars that the teenager didn't just Destroy him on the spot.

Still suitably violated, though holding on to _some_ will to press on and sort out Otherworld's plumbing problem (which as Whis had informed him, had _indeed_ stemmed from King Yemma's bathroom, much to his horror) Gohan found himself on his last task of the day - emptying and refilling the bloody pond. Much to his disgust, it lived up to its name, and was quite literally a pond filled with sticky crimson blood. It was still oddly warm, and spurted out of a large fountain in the centre of the circular fixture. He didn't ask the ogres who guarded HFIL just where the blood had come from, and in all honesty, he really didn't want to know.

It was tedious work, even though the young saiyan didn't have the first clue about plumbing. All he had learned so far, was that it included a hell of a lot of… _unblocking_. Gohan visibly shuddered, the memory of what he had found in the King of Ogre's enormous toilet was going to haunt his nightmares for the rest of his afterlife.

He turned the large golden taps that protruded from the rocky ground at his feet, wiping his brow free from sweat as he watched the pond begin to fill back up with blood. It was almost unbearably hot down in HFIL, causing his ridiculous outfit to stick unpleasantly to his skin. Though he didn't know just what exactly he had been expecting, he hadn't visited hell before, and similarly had no reason to.

Otherworld was the kind of place that didn't get much attention from the higher-ranking Gods, as they were all far too busy dealing with the realms of the living. There were spot checks performed every few millennia he was informed, though these were mainly carried out by the Kais. Extremely rarely involving The Supreme Kai unless something was amiss.

He had to admit that it was a very strange and downright eerie place. It was huge in scale, separated into many sectors that he learned would take _years_ to clean in one sitting, though a couple of very helpful (and terrified) ogres named Goz and Mez had offered to draw him up a schedule so that he could keep up with the maintenance.

Even still, he wasn't entirely certain where to start, and there were several regions that he had been specifically warned to stay away from. For what he couldn't yet fathom, but he already knew from his studies that it wasn't an easy way to spend an eternity. The weather conditions were positively catastrophic, and could change drastically at but a few seconds notice. Fire-storms, devastating tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, and razor sharp hailstorms that could rip your skin to shreds were just a few disasters that he had read about.

The land was pretty much barren, devoid of flowers or other foliage that one mind find on the Kais or Destroyers worlds. Save for perhaps the 'trees' that looked more like spikes than bark, the sharp imposing spirals protruding from the dusty ground, reaching towards the dark yellow clouds in the air. An incredibly gruesome fate should one be so unfortunate to fall off Snake-Way that hovered thousands of feet above.

He could make out a dark, pointed mountain range in the distance, where he was told the most dangerous hellions were imprisoned in the cells that lay within its deep valleys. Blood red lightening bolts cracked and rippled across the sky overhead, pitch black clouds swirling and encircling the rocky peaks. Even from this distance, he could depict blood curdling screams and bone quaking roars coming from the prisons. And Gohan made a mental note to avoid that place, he would rather not run into anyone he'd had a hand in… putting there.

The sky itself was also an oddity, shrouded in clouds and patches of deep orange, red and black. It cast dreary shadows on the rock formations and dark caves surrounding him, and he could hear a gaggle of horrified gasps and sobbing not too far away - no doubt Goz and Mez frightening a few new occupants as they welcomed them to the ' _Land Beyond the Clouds'_ or _'Land of No Return'_ or whatever he had heard them whispering to each other earlier when attempting to come up with cool phrases to scare their impending arrivals.

 **SPURT! SPUTTER! SPLASH!**

Gohan groaned in annoyance, as suddenly, the pond stopped filling with blood. The taps started to whir and grind, the blood no longer flowing freely and instead spitting wildly, some of the warm crimson liquid squirting in the opposite direction and coating his frilly white apron.

"Damn it, stupid thing!" The halfling griped, relenting in the fact that he would have to try and fix it again.

 _Praying_ to all that was holy that King Yemma hadn't blocked the bathroom again after his large lunch, the young saiyan tossed his pigtails over his shoulder and bent down, switching off the flow abruptly.

Though just as he was about to inspect the plumbing, did a barbarous shout cut through the air -

"Well, well, well lads - lookie what we have here!"

A gaggle of halo-topped aliens stood several feet away from him, all dressed in a very similar and _very_ _familiar_ looking armour. They giddily pointed at the 'maid' bending over the pond, drooling at the sight of the halfling's backside from its position in the air with hungry eyes.

Gohan growled, berating himself from not noticing the hellions sooner as he pulled his skirt further over his thighs from where it had ridden up. Attempting to ignore their cooing, he focused on fixing the faulty faucet so that he just could get the hell out of -

"Don't cover up for us darlin'!" A gruff-voiced, teal-skinned alien hollered.

His comrade, a pug-faced purple humanoid, wolf-whistled, "Yeah, we were quite enjoying the view!"

 _Don't rise to it Gohan,_ he chanted in his mind, coaxing himself down from blasting them into the arse end of oblivion. _Just fix the pond. Ignore them. Fix the pond and -_

"Nice pins an' all!" Another cat-called, licking his lips as his gaze raked over the teen's figure, "I'd love to see what the front's packin' though!"

"Yeah come on sweetheart, don't be shy! Give us a twirl!"

"Cyoar! What I wouldn't _give_ to have a piece o' that - !"

 _Right! That's it!_

Gohan's fury erupted in a burning blaze of gold. The dark pit of HFIL was illuminated with a dazzling amount of light, as the teenager whirled around with venom in his emerald eyes. Wild spikes of blonde hair struggled to be contained by its frilly pink bows as it blew back in the fierce breeze he had created with his aura.

"OH YOU WANT SOME OF _THIS,_ DO YOU?!" The young Destroyer roared, a sizzling ball of white hot ki growing rapidly in his palm, surging with a _crippling_ amount of power.

The slobbering goons shrieked in fright, as they were confronted by the furious super saiyan. Who was not only extremely powerful, but also -

"A bloke!" One of the men shouted in pure terror from where he had crashed to the ground out of shock, "Blimey! I-It's a bloke!"

The others, who Gohan immediately recognised as low-ranking members of The Frieza Force, clung to each other desperately, shaking with fear. It wasn't quite clear whether they were going to start balling, or wet themselves as the halfling took a threatening step towards them, his platform heel digging sharply into the ground.

"It doesn't matter _what_ I am!" He bellowed, charging up his Ki so that a plethora of lightening bolts rippled over his frame - causing one of Frieza's men to burst into tears, "You sick bastards! Didn't your mums teach you to always treat a lady with _RESPECT_?!"

"RUN FOR YOUR AFTERLIFE!" They screamed, just as the young Destroyer released the blast and knocked them flying into the air with a cataclysmic **BOOM!**

He watched the explosion darkly, folding his arms across his broad chest as the smoke cleared and their smouldering bodies were flung into a large nest of spikes not far away. Though to his displeasure, even if they did 'die' again, they would be re-spawned.

Unlike those who were sent to the heavens, the inhabitants of HFIL were fated to spend an eternity there for their crimes. Well, in most cases anyway. He knew of only three people that had been given a second chance in their after life, and none of _them_ would make inappropriate comments about his backside like that -

… Alright, maybe Makhai would… - _has_.

The only way they wouldn't re-spawn was if they were Destroyed by a Destroyer. And although the halfling was incredibly tempted, he knew that he would only get in trouble with Lord Beerus if he Destroyed anything that wasn't ordered. And as he thought back to his mentor's words in the meadow earlier, he knew that he should try to keep his head down and not cause any more chaos for himself. He really _was_ walking on thin ice, after all.

Satisfied by the unmistakable groans of subsequent agony that protruded from the bed of spikes, the halfling snorted, dropping out of his super saiyan state and once again bending down to tend to the defective plumbing when -

 **KA-BOOOOOOOOM!**

 _What the - ?!_

His eyes widened to the size of saucers, reflecting the mammoth plume of fire and smoke that had just erupted in the distance.

He could have sworn he didn't just do that… right?

Though there was no time to ponder just what Whis and Lord Beerus would do to him if he _had_ accidentally managed to blow up part of HFIL, as an aftershock rocked the area, the bloody pond upheaving a tidal wave of blood from the force and sending it crashing over him. He quickly conjured a shield above his head like an umbrella, protecting himself from the cascade of crimson liquid.

Gohan was bewildered, as the smoke, that he now realised was a striking green in colour was rapidly approaching him, a cloud of ash, fire and bubbling lava hot at its heels. He was about to teleport hightail out of there, when suddenly, a frantic voice bellowed from somewhere up ahead, and it was then did he notice a man at the base of the monstrous explosion, speeding away from the unfurling mass of debris.

He was flying incredibly fast, nothing but a blur of messy black hair and black and green armour. From this distance, it looked as though it mirrored Frieza's old minions, but he couldn't quite make it out due to the rate he was hurtling away from… no wait - _towards_ \- HIM?!

"WHAT ARE YOU JUST _STANDING_ THERE FOR, BOY?!" He yelled frantically, his voice low and gravely, even in its arduous shout.

But the teenager was suddenly frozen to the spot, his mouth agape in shock as the man fully came into focus.

He couldn't help but think that he looked like - he was the spitting image of his - !

Gohan yelped, as he was swiftly yanked by the scuff of his neck and pulled roughly away as the pond was suddenly engulfed in flames behind him. He jolted his head to the side as his captor - who he was still too stunned to release himself from - growled with obvious annoyance, a strong, battle-scarred fist firmly grasping ahold of him by his frilly collar.

" _Gods_ ," he spat viciously over his shoulder, "I didn't know that being half-human meant having half a fucking brain cell too!"

Well at least that settled it, he thought as they continued to fly at breakneck speed, dodging the explosion as it continued to blow up the ground behind them. This man was certainly _not_ his father.

* * *

 _14th November, 2019._

* * *

 _A/N: What a twist! Who is this mysterious man who has a hold of our favourite Junior Destroyer? And what caused that big explosion? It doesn't look like Gohan is going to stay out of trouble after all... Find out in the next episode of SGTD! **Chapter Twenty-Seven: Uprising.**_

 _Symbolism: Ananke roses - **Ananke** is considered the most powerful dictator of fate and circumstance; mortals as well as gods respected her power and paid her homage. Sometimes considered the mother of the Fates. **Rose** is considered a symbol of balance. It expresses promise, new beginnings, and hope. Its thorns represent defence, physicality, loss, thoughtlessness._

 _I provided a bit more about Perses in this chapter and about his father's race. I chose his home planet as 'Tartarus' which in greek mythology is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is also known as the place where souls are judged after death and where the wicked received divine punishment._

 _I'm also aiming to touch more on, and explore Gohan's SSG transformation next chapter, as much like his emotions, it is disjointed and difficult for him to get a hold of at present. Hopefully that will become clearer as to why soon :)_

* * *

 **Reviews:**

777torn777: answered via PM.

Maman-Sofia: Thanks so much for your review! Yes Chi-Chi's granny senses are well and truly here! Bravo for booing Barry!

Godel : Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the chapter. Yes absolutely, I didnt want Videl to be so angry for too long at Gohan. She would 100% protect his legacy no matter what. You also hit the nail on the head with Piccolo (no pun intended, ha!) I really love what they did with Piccolo being around Pan in Super, and I wanted to replicate this here, but in a much sadder tone as Gohan isnt with them. Thank you for your kind words about Chi-Chi, many fanfictions depict her as an insane, overbearing mother. When really I can totally see where she comes from, she just wants to keep her family safe, and I really wanted to show this throughout this entire story. Giving her a more realistic approach which I admit is hard in the crazy world of Dragonball! Thanks for your compliments and your well wishes too! Warms my heart! :)

keyblademeister88: Thanks so much! Yes I didnt want Gohan wallowing completely and not doing his job. But as you can see from this chapter he's still doing some of that! ha

Hek'UnnSkipper: thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter with it being more Gohan centred!

ericsofly2 : thanks!

pr0dz: I would LOVE to see this too!

Winged Seer Wolf: thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it and I made you laugh! :) Ahh, unfortunately Videl would not be permitted to live on the destoryers world as she is a mortal. The Gods do not approve of the future demigod either... so no family time Im afraid.

Thomas-The-TMC: thanks so much! :) And yay praise for Ch-Chi!

X3runner: uncle/grandpa Piccolo at his finest! Thanks for your review, Im really happy you enjoyed the chapter and loved Chi-Chi too. I find her an underrated and overlooked character a lot of the time, which is why I really wanted to do her justice! Interesting thoughts about Gohan's power too, I am definitely exploring this more in the next chapter.

RabbitMelody: that they did. that they did.

Squidzi Galaxi: I am planning of doing a 'Lost Buu Saga' spin off for this story. So I hope you look forward to that!

o- Nyx -o : Mucho love!

Marbbles123: yay thank you so much! I was a little concerned about how this chapter was going to be perceived seen as, as you put it, it mainly follows Videl. But I did think having a short break from Gohan would make his appearance a little more dramatic in that sense! So glad you enjoyed her terrible date (poor videl) and ghost Gohan too! Thanks for the Piccolo and Chi-Chi love too :) makes me so happy! And as for Gohan's consequences... I wonder... was it what you expected? :P

WolfofTheWest777: Thank you! :)

OmegaRealism: LOL. blocked.

super mystic gohan: thank you so much! :) I can't wait to reveal the results of the gang's training!

FireEmblemMaster101: Absolutely, you got it! The council are way too busy right now, so they may need to rethink Gohan's punishment. However, for now, this is suitable enough ;) Seriously, thank you for your kind words. I really dont understand why people are mean just for the sake of being mean! Its no big deal, it aint gonna stop me from writing! Thank you :)

Lord0: Aw thanks so much! It really means a lot!

ARandomGuest : Thanks for your review! Yeah I think that 'peace' is a strong word. But there is a universe at stake, as well as others. More of the Z-gang's feelings over Gohan's role will be explored, but at the end of the day, and like you say - he's still their Gohan and they cant stay mad at him for too long. If there is one thing those characters are, is loyal. As for Goten... more to come with that one! So glad you liked Videl and Chi-Chi and ghost Gohan, I really hope you enjoy this chapter as much :)

Pie 555: Thank you! Really happy you enjoyed the chapter! xD That punch was so satisfying to write you have NO idea! And the Piccolo batdad comment made me chuckle - so thanks! Goten's character will be explored further, dont you worry about that. You also make a good point about the fusion dance,hmmm deffo things to think about there! Haha I think I may have lived up to the booty in this chapter!

slade42: exactly!

Justanius: thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the chapter! :)

Chmia : oh bless you! Yeah I think Videl gets a bit of both this pregnancy - saiyan hunger vs sickness, she couldnt have it all that easy bless her! I have some ideas regarding a saiyan hybrid/demigod pregnancy. But none tooooo drastic. Also congratulations on the birth of your son xD I just had a niece so its babies everywhere. Baby cuddles are the best! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last :)

ssjash:Praise indeed! Thank you so much!

Iwik : Wow thank you for your review! So happy you enjoyed it! Oh how to reverse the damage INDEED. Will it EVER be reversed?! ahhhh! I cant wait to reveal more! Thank you so much for coming back and reviewing each chapter, it honestly means so much. I hope you got a good kick out of this chapter too!

ErintheBestest: Thanks so much for your reveiw/s! Im so happy you loved the chapter, especially the slower paced interactions. We had a very exciting couple of chapters, so these last couple are the calm before the storm. I really enjoy writing these moments between characters so hearing that you readers enjoyed it really makes me giddy! So thank you :) Glad you enjoyed the break from Gohan, but it was nice to write him back in in this chapter. I missed him! haha Loved that you picked up on Chi-Chi's character too. I always feel like so many people don't like her, but Im so glad that it seems that people reading this really root for her! Which is brilliant. Agree on the fem rewrite, it would be nice to see the strong female characters continue to be prominant after they get married and have babies! Though it was nice to see female super saiyans in super and Eighteen kicking ass in the TOP. Even if I didnt agree with the U6 super saiyan transformation method... ugh... back tingling. No! And thanks for your kind words on trolls! Much appreciated! :)

ObnoxiousDadJoke: wow thank you so much, kind word indeed! :)

tacktician: I understand your point, but I wanted to make the rules a bit harsher in this story with Gods mixing with mortals. It may seem over the top, but I think it gives Gohan's story more heartbreak and things to overcome. Also, Beerus' family are long gone. Who knows, maybe he struggled just as much as Gohan is currently doing when he first became a Destroyer? :)


	27. Uprising

_A/N: Hello everyone and happy new year! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! It has been a rocky couple of months but I am finally on the mend after surgery, and have been working really hard to complete what I am now referring to as 'The HFIL Saga'. Originally it was going to be two chapters long, but it fits better with three. The chapters are a little shorter and the second part is nearly complete so I am hoping that I can get that out to you soon. This has been super fun to write (just as much as writing Gohan in a maids outfit - ha!) and if you're wondering if it's some kind of filler, it isn't - everything has a purpose here. And of course, it's great to give Gohan some more adventures!_

 _As always, thank you all for being so patient and for all the love, reviews, faves and follows! I am really enjoying this journey, thank you for being there with me for the ride!_

 _ES x_

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Seven**

 **Uprising**

 **xxxx**

 **Area ? ? ?, Sector ? ? ? . Home For Infinite Losers**

Gohan had been kidnapped far too many times than he would care to admit.

The first time it had happened, he had barely been four years old, and he would never forget the crippling fear and panic that had gripped him as he was wrenched from his father's side by his estranged uncle. Nor how much he had screamed and sobbed for his parents as he was forcibly imprisoned in a suffocating space pod.

Of course, his father had come to his rescue almost immediately, but alas, his freedom had been short-lived. Son Goku had been killed in the ensuing conflict and Gohan had once again found himself in the charge of another stranger. There was no time to mourn for his father, nor grieve for the luxuries that he had once known in his family's quaint cottage in the mountains, for his new captor - Piccolo, would not allow it. Time was not in abundance, and he was condemned to spend a year in the wilderness in preparation for the fight for Earth and the Dragonballs.

It was some years later before he was taken again, waking up in an unknown place with another strange being looming over him. Though he reasoned that although Whis had indeed plucked his soul from its original destination of King Yemma's Check-In Station, he did not hold him against his will.

After that, the young Saiyan had lost count. Due to being the youngest and _shortest_ during his early years on Lord Beerus' world, he had been pressured into taking on the role of 'the bait' during many missions with his fellow recruits. He had been held captive by numerous monsters and warlords, even The Galactic Patrol at one point (although _that_ mishap could be considered as more of an arrest than a kidnapping). Kratos too, had once ripped him from his bed in the middle of the night along with Makhai when he was around thirteen, and dumped them off in a random rift in between dimensions that neither of them could escape - for _days_.

Whis was severely unimpressed by the incident, though even more so when he'd learned that Kratos' reasoning for 'misplacing' his comrades was in retaliation to the mischievous duo emptying an entire bottle of thinning solution into his shampoo. The only solace that Gohan had gained from the experience was that he could still see a bald patch on the warrior's head should he float above him.

Either way, it had been _years_ since he had been subjected to such humiliation, he was no longer a little kid after all. He was a _Junior Destroyer_ for goodness sake! And at nineteen years old, he would've thought that he'd outgrown this crap by now.

So much for staying out of trouble.

 **BOOM!**

Another unrelenting explosion rocked the area as they flew at rapid speeds. The booming force blowing Gohan's long pigtails away from his face and hitting his captor in the nose. The mysterious man coughed and spluttered, though his vice-like grip did not loosen from where he had hold of him by the scruff of his neck. Spitting out a mouthful of hair, he snarled down at the teenager who was still gawping at him in bewilderment.

"Close your damned mouth!" The stranger ordered over the roaring winds, his voice low and gravely and laced with annoyance, "I ain't gonna be held responsible if a hellbat flies into your throat and eats your tonsils! That damned woman wouldn't let me hear the end of it!"

Not too certain if his father's look-a-like was joking or not, Gohan promptly clamped his jaw tight - not wanting to take any chances. He swallowed dryly, though before he could ask just what in Otherworld was going on, did their flight abruptly change course.

The halfling squeaked as he was almost strangled by the rough tug of his collar against his adams apple, the pair hurtling around a sharp corner and rapidly descending into a deep valley overlooked by a vast mountain range.

The tallest of the peaks lay in a great line that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was as though the rocky spines had once belonged to a mighty beast who had lay down after tirelessly wondering the depths of HFIL, only to never to get back up again. The range was high to the east and low to the west, curling at the end like a tail. Cold, jagged crevices loomed over them as they delved deeper into the darkness, and Gohan could just make out the thick ice at their points, sharp and glistening like fangs.

He was let go as he was flung into a dark cave at the base of one of the rocky mountains. Skidding to a halt as he landed roughly on his backside, the young Destroyer glared up at his captor who was too busy staring out of the cave entrance to notice his growing anger. The man's jaw was clenched tightly shut as he surveyed the barren valley, his obsidian eyes hard and calculating.

It was only now, by the blinding light of the explosions that flashed across the opening, did Gohan finally manage to get a proper look at him. He was tall and muscular, his bulky torso shielded by black and green battle armour, not too dissimilar to the Frieza Force's attire, though instead of the wide shoulder pads, it had green-coloured thigh pads stretching over either side of his hips.

His lightly tanned skin was marked by an abundance of faded scars, along with a more prominent one that spread thick and sharply across his left cheek. He wore dark red shin and wrist guards, black and green fighting boots, and a curiously crimson-stained headband over his forehead. He had a mass of thick black hair that stood out at odd angles atop his head, a style which had stricken Gohan with such a strong sense of familiarity moments earlier.

He had been mistaken of course, for the more he stared at the stranger did he notice the subtle differences between him and his father, his eyes drawn to his hard chiseled features that glowed in the fires that raged beyond the mountain, and what appeared to be a permanent snarl etched upon his lips. And as a wave of shadows cast over the damp stone walls, did the halfling notice that, just like him, he had a shining golden halo hovering above his head.

That, and the furry brown tail wrapped around his waist was impossible to miss.

"What the - ?!" Gohan started hotly, clambering to his feet before the man slapped a calloused hand over his mouth and chin - muffling the rest of his sentence and shoving him flat against the rugged wall.

Though just as the young Destroyer was about to unleash his fury upon his ballsy assailant, did a bellowing battle cry sound from somewhere in the distance. It was loud and barbarous, reverberating through the desolate mountain range and echoing harshly against the cave walls. No more than a split second later, did hundreds - no, _thousands_ of hellions race past their hiding place and out into the horizon, roaring, cheering and firing random Ki blasts from their hands as they went.

"That was close," he told him, finally releasing him as the enormous group disappeared into the shadows beyond the mountain, "I didn't think so many of them would escape. We can't let them see us, not just yet."

"Who the _hell_ are you?!" Gohan demanded fiercely as he slipped into a defensive fighting stance, "What's going on?! Why did you bring me here?!"

He was perplexed, as the mysterious warrior snorted almost mockingly at his display, "I think the better question is why did you _let me_ bring you in here. Tch, and here was me thinking that you'd put up at least a little bit of a fight. Gotta say, as far as first impressions go - disappointing."

"W-What?" The teenager blundered, though his frustration was evident as he gritted his teeth at the man's mockery, "Just who the hell are you?! And why do you look like my - ?! Y-You know what, that doesn't matter."

He paused, breathing out slowly and attempting to get the image of his father's despairing eyes back on the cruise ship out of his mind. Indeed, it was obvious that this man was a Saiyan, the black hair and eyes, as well as the extra appendage was a dead give away. And from previous run-ins with the notorious space-pirates, he wasn't going to allow himself to let his guard down that easily. Even though Vegeta had mellowed out _significantly_ nowadays from what he had seen when he was back on Earth, he would never forget the brutal Prince of Darkness that once was, nor how he used to openly boast about his race's ruthless and bloodthirsty nature.

Back when he was learning about the rich history of the universe and of the tyrants who had ruled over the galaxies in the modern eras, Gohan had himself wondered just what the Saiyans would have been capable of if they hadn't been driven to the brink of extinction by Frieza and his tyrannical family. Though he had deduced that whatever it was would have no doubt upset the universal balance, and that maybe by some odd twist of fate, he may have had to put an end to it by his own destructive hand.

It had always seemed strange to him, especially when they had learned of his father's true heritage, that someone like Son Goku could have hailed from such a planet full of cruel and merciless warriors. For the man was the most selfless and kind-hearted person he had ever known, certainly _nothing_ like this space-pirate in front of him who positively exuded arrogance and a brutish sense of pride. And judging by the sneering look upon his features as he regarded him, this man was just like any other full-bloodied Saiyan he had encountered.

It was obvious that he was trying to rile him up or challenge him in some way, which angered the younger Saiyan even more so! He'd had an incredibly testing day thus far, and he'd be damned if this brute tried to 'cop-a-feel' too.

Standing more upright with his shoulders tall, and giving the Saiyan brute the most intimidating stare he could muster, Gohan decided to rise to his title, lowering his voice so that his commanding tone battered against the cavernous stone surrounding them, "Do you _know_ who I am, mortal?"

The mysterious male stared, and for a moment the teenager had thought that his 'Almighty' display had done the trick and terrified him into submission. That was, before he let out a loud snort, not even attempting to cover up his subsequent bark of laughter.

Something, which the young Destroyer-in-training did not take lightly to.

"Oi!" He barked in annoyance, as the man continued to hysterics, his gruff bursts of laughter grating on his nerves. By rights, he should be quivering in fear at the mere sight of him, though this _nutcase_ had not only swiped him off the murky streets of HFIL and stuffed him into the side of a mountain, but was acting as though he was looking at a puppy performing cute tricks and not a mighty Destroyer of Worlds demanding answers, "What's so funny?!"

"Now _that_ was just precious," The Saiyan chortled, smirking at him, "Tell me kid, when did you graduate from pull-ups?"

"So you don't know who I am then," Gohan glowered, allowing a wry grin to play upon his lips and balling his hands up into fists, "Well that's just fine by me, because I'd be more than happy to show you."

"Calm down twinkle-toes, I know _exactly_ who you are," he replied haughtily, apparently unfazed by his dangerous threat, "Do you think that I'd just up and save _any_ random-ass teenager in a dress?"

The halfling scowled, heat rising to his cheeks as the man gave his attire a scrutinising once over and wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"As soon as I caught sight of you in that ridiculous get up, I just _knew_ that you'd have to belong to one of _my_ idiot cubs," he told him, causing Gohan to frown in confusion.

"Wait, what?"

"Oh come on," he griped, clicking his tongue in aggravation, "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one of the family."

"Did you get him Bardock?!"

He didn't get a chance to retort, as a shout suddenly cut through the air, accompanied by rapid footsteps from further down the dark cave. The voice was light and feminine, belonging to a short figure who stepped out of the pitch blackness and into the dim light that poured into the lip of the cave's entrance.

Slender and petite, the woman had much softer features compared to her companion. She too was wearing combat armour in shades of bronze and dark green, and a halo atop her shaggy black hair that barely reached to her shoulders. Her dark eyes were wide and anxious, her own Saiyan tail unraveling from her waist as she skidded to a halt before them.

"Yeah I got him, Gine," The mystery man - Bardock, huffed somewhat begrudgingly, giving the teenager another scathing look, "Although I thought I was supposed to be picking up a grand _son_ , not a grand _daughter_."

Gohan was floored.

"G-Grand -? Wha- ?!" He spluttered in disbelief, before Gine shrieked in delight and the next thing he knew, he had been forcibly pulled into her embrace, his messy head clanging against the front of her chest plate as she clasped him tightly to her bosom.

The hug - if one could call it as such - resembled one like his mother used to give him, though was much _much_ stronger. So much so that he was certain he would have been starved of oxygen if he wasn't already dead. Either way, the young Saiyan was too shocked to move, let alone free himself of her iron grasp.

Lucky, Bardock came to his aid.

"Alright alright!" He growled, yanking the flustered teen away by the scruff of his neck, "Control yourself woman, give the damned cub some room!"

"Oh hush," she spouted, uncaring of her husband's aversion to affection and clasping Gohan by the cheeks with both hands, gazing into his eyes - as though searching for something, "Oh just _look_ at him Bardock! Don't you think that he looks like my father?"

"Tch," the Saiyan mustered with obvious contempt, "I hope the resemblance stops there, I don't wanna have to face a reincarnation of _that_ pain in the ass."

Gine rolled her eyes, though she failed to hide her amusement, "Don't you think that it's about time you forgot about all of that nonsense? It _has_ been nearly fifty years since he died."

"And I'd take an eternity in HFIL over spending another _second_ with that miserable old f - !"

"Hold on a minute! Time out!" Gohan interrupted suddenly, tearing himself out of the strange woman's grasp and backing away, his eyes wide as he regarded the two Saiyans in disbelief, unable to quite comprehend the situation, "Just who are you people?! Look, you'd better tell me just what the hell is going on here or else - !"

"You mean you haven't _told_ him?" Gine started, frowning deeply at Bardock, who all but huffed in annoyance.

"Well I was a little busy saving the brat from being reduced to ash," he replied indifferently, "That big explosion burst the fire-dams banks, and he was just _standing_ there watchin' it speed towards him. Gormless fuck."

"I didn't _ask_ for your help, you know," he spat back, prompting the older Saiyan to roll his eyes.

"Whatever kid, you should be thanking me for saving your stupid ass."

"Bardock is right, Gohan," Gine began to explain before the teenager could offer his own angry retort, "The flames contained by that dam aren't ordinary. From time to time, it overspills and creates a very dangerous river of wild fire that runs all the way through HFIL. Sometimes, when the firestorms are especially bad down here it can spread all throughout the main sectors, burning everyone and everything to cinders. It's part and parcel of the punishments for the inmates. If we're unlucky enough to get caught up in it, we'll re-spawn after being burned alive because we're doomed to spend an eternity here. But for someone like _you_ , however, the same rules don't apply, and a wave of _that_ magnitude could have wiped you out completely, if not injured you very badly."

"Hang on," he managed to muster after a beat of silence, attempting to ignore the shudder that travelled up his spine at the revelation of the gruesome tortures that befell the occupants of HFIL, "You know my name? A-And just now you called me your - "

"Grandson, yes!" The Saiyan woman beamed, giddy with excitement and holding her hands to her heart, as if trying desperately trying to stop herself from hugging him senseless again, "I can't _believe_ that we finally get to meet you! Oh and I thought this day would never come - not that I would wish for you to spend your afterlife down here of course! Are you surprised?"

 _Well, that was one word for it,_ he thought, staring unblinkingly back at them. "A-Are you really my grandparents?"

"Oh for the love of - _yes_!" said Bardock, his _grandfather_ , rolling his eyes in exasperation, "Surely it's not that much of a difficult concept to grasp, boy. Your father had to come from some poor fucker's junk."

Gohan grimaced at the vulgarity. Well, at least that explained why the man resembled his father so much. Though the thought was surreal, only a few short hours ago he was scrubbing the deepest bowels of King Yemma's toilet bowl in a maids outfit, and now he was hiding in a cave in the middle of HFIL talking to his Saiyan grandparents (still _in_ said outfit, mind). People who he had never thought he would meet, for he had accepted many years ago that his Saiyan ancestors had been condemned to HFIL for their crimes just like the rest of their race.

How did he keep getting himself into these situations again?

But perhaps what was even more unbelievable was the fact that the pair of supposedly ruthless, bloodthirsty space-pirates had just saved him from being barbecued - something that he was _certainly_ going to keep to himself for want of Lord Beerus and Whis not getting wind of it. That was just one oddity, the other was the fact that his grandmother seemed so… nice? Definitely not the type of person to be subjected to an eternity in HFIL if first impressions were anything to go by. In fact, despite his crass and sarcastic demeanour, his grandfather hadn't exactly _tried_ to mutilate him just yet.

Though Gohan had every right to be sceptical, for every first encounter he'd had with a Saiyan had gone sour. A part of him couldn't help but think that they were playing some kind of trick. Then again, Saiyans weren't exactly known for being deceptive at heart, they weren't usually sneaky or delighted in using stealth tactics. No, from what he knew from the near-extinct race, they were full-frontal and brash, rather facing their opponents head on in an all out brawl. Trickery, as Vegeta had once remarked some years ago, was the very height of cowardice according to a Saiyan. And the Prince was certainly a man who did _not_ like to be tricked.

So what was the deal? Had they seemingly mellowed out in death just like Vegeta had in life?

He wasn't so certain, though he couldn't help but be a little hopeful, as his grandmother succumbed to her emotions once more, pulling him in for another bone-breaking hug. Her slender arms wrapped lovingly around his middle and squeezed him tight. He hugged her back awkwardly, despite himself, and was pleasantly surprised to feel the maternal warmth radiating from her. Though Bardock made an agitated grunt at the display.

"Oh Gohan, my sweet little cub," Gine gushed, looking up at him with watery eyes, "I can't tell you how happy I am to have this moment."

"Well er - , it's good to meet you," said Gohan, still a little stunned, but smiled all the same, "I can't believe it myself really."

She chuckled, reaching up on her tiptoes and ruffling his bangs with her delicate fingers, causing him to blush, "I can't believe that you're _this_ tall!"

Bardock scoffed, "And I can't believe that you're this _frilly_."

"Bardock," Gine said in warning, though her smile was still sweet - quite frankly, the combination was a little unnerving, "Maybe Gohan feels comfortable in what he's wearing. And as his loving, _supportive_ grandparents we need to respect his choices, we have no right to judge - !"

"It wasn't my choice!" The halfling exclaimed hotly, gripping at his skirts out of embarrassment, "I was _forced_ to wear this, alright?!"

"Sure you were," his grandfather snorted sarcastically, "Look, all I'm saying is that you're walking a little too good in those heels for someone who was only just forced to wear them, kid. That, and you could just take it off. I'd rather walk around stark bollock naked than parade myself around lookin' like a fool. "

"I'm _not allowed_ to take it off!" He argued, his blush deepening even more so, "It was a punishment given to me by the Gods themselves - !"

"Oh _really_? And what could Kakarot's golden boy have done that was _so_ bad that the 'Gods themselves' had to deliver the penalty?"

Gohan froze, as a snide, sneering voice escaped from somewhere in the shadows. A searing hot anger filled him without warning, as the spiteful tone was all too familiar. It was a voice that had sung from deep within his darkest childhood memories, belonging to a man - a **_monster_** , whom he'd hoped he would never have to set eyes upon again.

Raditz stepped forwards into the light, his large boots tapping roughly upon the rocky ground as the reddish hue from the circling clouds outside bathed his tall, muscular frame in an eerie crimson glow. He looked exactly the same as he had done fifteen years ago. The same black and brown armour, the hulking Saiyan stature that even surpassed Bardock's, the long brown tail that had sent Krillin flying into the wall of Kame House all those years ago. The scarred and calloused fists that had unleashed so much agony upon his father, now balled up tightly in an offensive stance, the same snarl curling his lips as he regarded the half-saiyan before him.

The fiendish brute must have heard the teenager's breath hitch involuntary, as his smirk grew even wider.

"Come now, nephew," said Raditz, his mass of long spikey hair wavering in the sudden cold breeze that swept the cave, "Don't keep us in suspense. Why don't you elaborate?"

He growled, gritting his teeth as a bombardment of haunting memories swelled within him, "I'll elaborate my fists all over your face if you take _one_ step closer."

The tension surged and sizzled between them, and Gohan had focused his dangerous stare so much so on his estranged uncle that he failed to notice his grandmother looking worriedly between them.

"Hn," Raditz observed mockingly, "It appears as though you've gotten somewhat better at defending yourself, brat. Though it's a shame that I couldn't say the same gall resided with your father. I can still hear that pathetic excuse for a Saiyan's screams as he allowed me to torture him to within an inch of his life."

Gohan's eyes flashed green, his fury rising, "WHY _YOU_ \- !"

 **SMACK!**

The teenager jerked forwards, wincing at the sudden pain that seared across the back of his skull. He whirled around in shock, shooting daggers at his estranged grandfather's offending hand. The man looked _livid_.

"What was that for?!" He growled, rubbing the sore spot on his head as Raditz snickered at his misfortune.

"I'm not having you two fuckwits attack each other when we've got bigger shit to deal with," Bardock stated, lowering his arm and glaring at the pair of them.

"But -!"

"No, shut it!" He snapped, pointing an accusatory finger as he continued, "I don't give a shit just how powerful you are, you ain't gonna throw your weight around under my watch. And before you even _think_ of arguing back, you'd do well to respect your fucking grandparents, boy!"

He pouted, as his grandfather rounded on his eldest son, "And YOU Raditz, do you _really_ want to fuck with a Destroyer?! You _do_ remember what happened the last time you pissed this kid off, right?"

As Gohan pondered just how in the world he even knew that he was a Destroyer, Raditz looked furious, "But father - !"

"NO BUTS!" Bardock yelled, cutting across him, "Bunch of little shits. If Kakarot were here I'd bash all _three_ of your skulls together so hard, so _help me_ \- !"

"Bardock, _my_ _moonshine_ ," Gine interrupted sweetly, smoothing her hands over his shoulders - which seemed to slowly relieve the tension much to Gohan's surprise, "Why don't you let me handle this?"

The Saiyan warrior grumbled in annoyance, still fuming. Though he relented, muttering to himself as he stalked away with his arms folded. He plonked himself down on a nearby boulder, allowing Gine to address both uncle and nephew.

"Now Gohan," she started carefully, "I know that what Raditz did was… _wrong_. But believe me when I say that I was just as angry with him as I was with Kakarot."

The teenager gaped, "But my dad didn't do anything - !"

"Let me finish," she said forcefully, "I think that there is much more to the situation than you realise."

"Mother, this is NOT necessary - !" Raditz started, though with a firm look from the Saiyan woman, he too was silenced.

"Your grandfather and I, we sacrificed _everything_ to keep our sons alive," Gine explained, looking towards the halfling. Her voice was firm and collected, but there was no denying the storm of emotion that raged deep within her eyes. "We got… wind of Frieza's plan to annihilate our world and every Saiyan on it. He was scared of the power that our race possessed, as we were quickly becoming the best soldiers in the Frieza Force. Your grandfather caught his eye, as he harboured a lot of power for a third-class, even one that had risen through the army ranks and become a Commander. Everyone knew how strong Bardock was becoming, and rumours of the old legend - the Super Saiyan - began to resurface. Frieza's scouts must have tapped into a scouter or two, and reported back to Frieza."

"That bastard ordered every Saiyan fleet and battalion back to Vegeta so he could make sure that we were all wiped out in one, terrified that the prophesied warrior would come into fruition and end him and his empire," she said, a fierce look about her, "It was lucky as at the time, Raditz was off world on a mission with Prince Vegeta and General Nappa. It was incredibly rare for a third class to go on missions with the Prince of all people, but the King was mildly impressed with Bardock's power and wanted to see what his son was made of too. It started out as some sort of test, I think. But as fate would have it, Raditz was a long way from home already, so I made sure that his return orders wouldn't reach them in time."

Gohan's eyes widened, listening intently as his grandmother continued, letting out a shaky breath as she did so. It appeared that it was still a difficult story for her to tell, even after all of these years.

"And, Bardock… he stole a pod for your father to send him off to another world far off Frieza's radar. Kakarot was only a baby, too young to even come out of the nursing capsule at the time. I feared that because of it, he wouldn't make it," she said, tears welling in her eyes, "But your grandfather was adamant that he would. He believed that he was strong, and that he might grow up to defeat Frieza himself one day, maybe even become the Saiyan of legend that he feared. Either way, if we were wrong, we promised that we would go and fetch him, and bring him home."

He stared at Bardock in amazement, " _You_ chose to send my dad to Earth?"

"Piece of shit world," The older warrior shrugged, "Underdeveloped in terms of tech and the inhabitants barley had a power level to brag about. Frieza wouldn't have been interested, so Kakarot would have been able to live on undetected."

"But I thought that he was sent to Earth to destroy it ready for sale or something?" Gohan frowned, bewildered as he looked towards his uncle, "That's what you told us, right?"

Raditz rolled his eyes, "Idiot, I was wearing a scouter. A scouter that could have been tapped into at any time by Frieza's intelligence. Do you really think that bastard would have just let me run off to the edge of the North Galaxy on my own? No, I needed a cover, a goal. So I told Prince Vegeta, Nappa and the rest that I was going to collect my little brother to join us from where he had spent the last twenty odd years slaughtering the inhabitants of an incredibly valuable planet. It wasn't that far off from the truth."

"Although it probably _would_ have been conquered if the stupid little prick hadn't bashed his head open and forgotten pretty much everything that made him a Saiyan," added Bardock.

"But I don't understand, I thought that Saiyans didn't care about family," he said, giving Raditz another scathing glance, "Or any one else for that matter. At least from what _I_ saw anyway."

His grandmother looked a little hurt by his words, as Raditz growled, his cheeks reddening with anger, "Mind your tongue, brat! You have _no_ _idea_ of the miserable existence I suffered in the living world. My race, my planet, my _home_ was blown to space-dust and I spent the best part of twenty-five years under Frieza's heel! I risked my life travelling to Earth to find your worthless father. And _what_ do I find when I get to that miserable rock? Not a Saiyan, nor a **_brother_** but a man, a _boy_ who forgot everything and denied his heritage and as well as his bloodline! He threw my offer to leave his merry band of weaklings and join a cause worthy of a true warrior back in my face!"

"You threatened to kill everyone on Earth!" The young Saiyan snapped, his own fury bubbling over as his grandparents looked back and forth between them, "Not only that, you kidnapped his _son_ and tried to make him slaughter innocent people just to get me back! How the hell did you expect him to react?!"

"He made a _mockery_ out of me and everything that I stood for!" He roared, his bellow ricocheting off the cave walls and escaping into the shadows behind them, "We could have led a revolt and defeated Frieza and his army together! We _could_ have avenged our parents, our race! But Kakarot denied me that, he renounced himself as a Saiyan and instead pledged his allegiance as an Earthling. And _hell_ did he prove it, allying himself with the weak and interbreeding with the locals! And after everything I went through, I was rejected by my own brother, do you have _any_ idea how that feels, brat?!"

Silence followed as Raditz panted, his breath laboured and laced with anger, frustration and a sadness that stumped the young Destroyer - albeit momentarily. He thought on his uncle's words carefully, regarding his next step as the end of the man's sentence continued to clatter through the humid air.

He briefly pondered what his father might have said in this situation, but alas, Gohan was not his father, and therefore wasn't able to forgive as easily.

"Maybe I didn't know about your life," he spoke slowly, boldly staring up at him, "But scouter or not, if that's what you truly believed then you should have said something along those lines before you threatened the Earth."

Raditz looked away, averting his dark stare to his boots, but Gohan continued firmly, "My father has always been a tolerant man, but when someone threatens the lives of those he loves then he finds it hard to just let that slide. Brother or not."

The halfling sighed as his uncle still refused to face him. Instead, his eyes only darkened further, "Look, I'm sorry for what Frieza did to you, to everyone. But I know a lot of people whose lives haven't been all sunshine and rainbows either, and they didn't do the half of what you did to my family and friends. Bottom line, you acted like a complete prick - so forgive me if I'm a little unsympathetic."

He had half expected the bulky Saiyan to throw a fit when he had finished. But although he was clearly burning with rage, Raditz scoffed and stomped away from the group, glaring at one of the dark corners of the cave - but he did not leave.

Bardock let out a small chuckle, "Don't worry about it kid, we've already chewed him out for what he did. Though you might wanna get your head outta your father's ass, he ain't no damned saint. He should have ditched the sentiments and joined his brother like a true Saiyan warrior. And don't look so fucking butt-hurt. Despite what you 'believe', Saiyans _do_ look out for each other, always have, always will - especially the lower-class, sometimes it's the only way to survive. And incase you need your memory jogging, boy, I think you'll find that it was _Kakarot_ that killed Raditz, not the other way around."

He clenched his jaw, ready to fight his father's corner once again, when Gine placed a gentle hand on his bicep.

"Gohan listen," she started seriously, "Raditz has had a long time to think about his mistakes, as I'm sure Kakarot has too. I understand your anger, but we can't talk about this here - not now, we need to get going before we get caught up in the uprising."

" _Uprising_?!" Gohan gaped in disbelief, his anger wavering, "What?! Is that what all those explosions were?!"

"It isn't for discussion here, little cub, we haven't much time," his grandmother cooed, dragging him by the hand and making to lead the way back into the shadows, "Come, I was in the middle of preparing a feast for your arrival before Bardock ran out to get you."

"And what a _glorious_ feast it'll be," Bardock scorned, "More hellfish and bowls of gruel…"

"W-Wait!" The halfling spouted, stopping them in their tracks, "If there's an uprising in HFIL then I've got to stop it! It could upset the universal balance, and it's already being threatened by - !"

"Yes, we've noticed," Raditz said snidely, finally turning to face him once more, " _Everyone_ down here has noticed the amount of dark energy sweeping across the universe. Why do you think there's a resistance in the first place? These things aren't exactly a regular occurrence, you know."

"Yeah I _know_ that," he shot back in annoyance, prompting his uncle to let out an angered growl.

Although he didn't have many dealings with HFIL as a Junior Destroyer, he had read enough during his studies to know that a revolt by its inmates was a very _very_ big deal. On a big enough scale, it could lead to catastrophic consequences - mainly ripping apart the dimensions between this realm and the realm of the living.

And that was the LAST thing that they needed right now.

"But what do you mean everyone down here has noticed?" he asked, even more concerned by his grandfather's sudden serious look.

"Dark realms like HFIL are sensitive to negative energy," said Bardock, "And we've been feeling a darker power growing stronger as it spreads across all dimensions. The inmates have been buzzin' off their tits about it for a while. It's as though they can sense that something is coming, something disastrous and evil that might just be powerful enough to release them from this place. Because of that, the worst have them have broken out of their cells. Though if they knew it was Perses that was coming, they might do the smart thing and lock themselves back up in the deepest pit of HFIL, stick their head between their legs and kiss their ass goodbye."

"You know about Perses?" Gohan mustered, he didn't understand how the man knew so much. For one, Perses was a Junior Destroyer _way_ before Bardock's time, and now he had been dead for some forty years, he should be completely oblivious to what was going on outside of HFIL. Something just didn't add up.

"Of course I do," He sighed gruffly, running a hand through his hair out of frustration, "See, the thing is kid, I - "

He stopped short suddenly - and went ridged.

The teenager was flummoxed as he watched his grandfather's eyes bulge and become vacant and unseeing, his mouth jarring open in what looked like a silent scream. He thought he was going to topple off the boulder he was sat upon, when Gine gasped and rushed to his side, grasping his shoulders tightly with both hands.

"Oh no, Raditz! It's happening again!" She cried worriedly, rubbing her hands over her husband's muscular arms in a soothing manner, "Come on Bardock, snap out of it!"

Though no sooner did the words leave her lips, did the Saiyan appear to come back to his senses. His body relaxed as he breathed out, but his features quickly contorted into an aggressive snarl, his knuckles turning white as he scrunched up his fists from where they rested upon his knees.

"Oh son of _a bitch_!" He spat furiously, "Just what we need!"

"Father, what was it?" Raditz started, concern marring his brow, "What was the vision?"

"Vision?" Gohan frowned, _surely_ they were pulling his leg, "What do you mean _vision_?"

"Ambush," Bardock stated, ignoring the question, his breathing still a little laboured as he recovered, "Frieza Force."

Gine gasped, as Raditz swore under his breath, "An ambush? When?"

"In about five seconds."

"What are you psychic now or something?" The halfling drawled sarcastically, though he was confused, as his grandfather let out a dark chuckle.

"Hn, looks like I was wrong," he said, "You're not as stupid as you look."

"Wait, wha - ?"

 **KA-BOOM!**

Too stunned to process his grandfather's words, Gohan lurched forwards as the mountain was struck with a rip-roaring shockwave. Though he quickly recovered, thrusting a hand outwards and conjuring a golden shield around them as the cave began to crack and crumble.

"Are you effing serious?!" The teenager cried, as a shuddering force not unlike an earthquake rocked the entire area. "You're _actually_ psychic?"

Bardock growled from where he had crashed to the ground along with Gine and Raditz, looking irritably up at the young Saiyan, "Do I _look_ like I'm fucking around, kid?"

His retort was stifled, as a bombardment of white hot Ki blasts rained upon the mountain range, scorching the earth and igniting the air beyond the shield. Thick, black clouds of smoke engulfed the area as the whole mountain crumbled to dust, falling from the sky in a clattering shower of rouge rocks and falling debris.

Gohan's eyes narrowed, letting his protective shield dissipate into the air as the ash and smoke began to clear, and in its place filled cruel cackles of laughter.

"Well, well, look what we have here," an amused voice sounded, "A bunch of low-level monkey _scum_. Funny, I thought that baboons came in larger packs, these four must be strays."

The fact that his dead Saiyan grandfather somehow had psychic abilities that allowed him to look into the future perhaps wasn't the _craziest_ thing that he had ever heard. It would explain how he knew that he was a Destroyer after all, not to mention his knowledge of Perses' and his growing power. However, it was still rather difficult to believe, even now as around three dozen of what were unmistakably Frieza's soldiers hung in the red sky above them - just as he had predicted.

"So," Gohan started somewhat haughtily, relenting in the fact that this day was just getting weirder and weirder, "Do I even want to ask _how_ \- ?"

"Magical foresighted fish-faced aliens," Bardock informed him bluntly, getting to his feet and slipping into a bold and unfamiliar fighting stance, Gine and Raditz immediately following suit, "Pissed them off. So they cursed me with the ability to see the future as well as my own abysmal end - which was ultimately being the first to burn up in Frieza's death ball when I tried to stop him from blasting Planet Vegeta into oblivion."

"What did you do to make them so angry?" he asked, eyes wide.

Bardock shrugged, "My crew and I brutally slaughtered their entire race."

"Wow, now I can see their reasoning," Gohan said dryly.

"Don't be a smart ass!" He snapped back, "It's not like you haven't done the same, so don't pull that goody two shoes crap on me!"

"That's _different_!"

"When you maidens have finished!" A hulking orange-skinned solider called over them. He had a brutish appearance, with a heavy set jaw and wild brown hair. He exuded a sense of superiority as the largest of the group, twisted sharp horns fixed atop his skull and a smirk so wide that he could see the sharp fangs protruding from his lips.

"Ah Bardock! It's been too long, Commander!" He sneered, locking eyes with the warrior below, "I hardly recognised your face."

"Shame that," Bardock glowered, wearing his own smirk, "Though maybe you'd remember the bottom of my boot better Napal, seen as it was the last thing that you ever saw."

Napal seethed, as Gohan turned to his grandfather, "You know them?"

"Dodoria's elite patrol," he said, a dark look about him, "Cowardly bastards murdered my crew whilst I was out of commission not long before Frieza blew us all up."

"And what fun they were too!" Napal chortled, as his troop began to snicker behind him, "I like 'em tough. It took us _hours_ of torture to get them to scream for mercy!"

"They would _never_ \- !" Gine started, looking positively wild at the accusation, though Bardock merely chortled.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," he mocked, causing the soldiers to snarl with contempt, "Though I have to say you've got some guts showing yourselves around these parts, and I was led to believe that you didn't have any."

"Miserable low-level!" Another green-skinned alien growled, spitting on the ground in disgust, "You dare to tell _us_ what to do?!"

"You're boarding on Saiyan territory," said Bardock, "So I think you'll find that I do. And besides, you know that you're supposed to be rotting in a cell, not roaming free. So why don't you crawl back into your pit before things start to get ugly?"

A roar of laughter escaped the group, as Napal gave them a snide grin, " _You_ threaten _us_?! You're outnumbered!"

"Oh, I don't think so," The Saiyan warrior smirked, "I've brought the big guns. Though I don't exactly need them to deal with the likes of you peons."

"Me?!" Gohan gaped angrily, as his grandfather pointedly looked towards him, "How does this involve _me_ all of a sudden?!"

Even though he was all for locking up the inmates where they belonged to prevent an uprising, he didn't want to get caught up in any unnecessary brawls. He was already in enough trouble as it was, and only a few hours ago, he had punched an ogre, demolished half of the Check-In Station _and_ unleashed his fury on another hoard of Frieza's men earlier. He wasn't certain just how much more he could get away with before Whis and Lord Beerus started getting word of trouble in HFIL, and he was determined not to get caught in the middle of it.

No, he would have to round up the hellions quickly, inform King Yemma of the situation if he didn't already know, fix the still-broken plumbing and leave.

However, it appeared that Bardock wasn't having any of it.

"Stop being a fucking pansy," he growled, "Are you a Destroyer or not? Even if you don't end their worthless existence, if we kill them they'll re-spawn back in their prison. It's like a default. Hopefully they'll stay there if the ogres have managed to reinforce the cells."

"Hang on a minute," he quirked sceptically, "Why aren't _you_ in a cell? Did you escape too?!"

His grandfather sighed in annoyance, clearly fed up of all his questioning, "Not _everyone_ is condemned to a cell, boy. I mean, I did end up in a cell at first, but I got let out early because of my small act of redemption before I died."

The teenager opened his mouth to reply, when he was interrupted by a wolf whistle from up above them.

"I see you're keeping better company Bardock," Napal practically salivated, eyeing the halfling's outfit and causing Gohan to shudder, "Who's that pretty little thing in the dress?"

Raditz snorted at his misfortune, as he sent him a furious scowl.

Bardock, however, grinned back evilly, "My brat's new piece of ass."

"WHAT?!" Gohan and Raditz cried, horrified.

" _Father!_ " His uncle practically shrieked, as Gine let out an exasperated sigh. Though Bardock ignored them.

"Ain't she a cutie?" He goaded them, "You want her? Come and get her! You'll regret it."

"Can you _not_?!" The young Saiyan spluttered angrily, trying to ignore the way that the henchmen ogled him with hunger in their eyes, "I've had enough people hitting on me today!"

"Don't look at me," he shrugged indifferently, "It's not my fault that you inherited your grandmother's ass."

Raditz face-palmed, as Gohan let out a mortified squawk.

"Nah, keep her," One of the alien's spouted, "We don't want no sloppy seconds!"

"Yeah!" Another called, "No matter how easy she is, Saiyan trash ain't really my type."

"Especially one with that many hideous muscles!" Napal called.

"Oi!" The teenager shouted, suddenly offended, "I am at _least_ an eight!"

"Yeah, an eight out of a hundred more like," Raditz muttered.

" _Piss off!_ "

"Hey," Bardock growled up at the chortling brutes, "Nobody talks about my grandson like that, even if he _is_ a cross dresser!"

"I already _told_ you!" He fumed, "I was forced to - !"

He felt Bardock's Ki spike without warning, stunning Gohan somewhat as it was far more powerful than he had expected. The earth cracked beneath his boots, as with an almighty bellow did he charge towards the elites. It barely gave the startled group time to react, the majority of them scarpering as Bardock's rampaging fist embedded itself deep within Napal's abdomen.

It smashed straight through the armour, sending shards of broken chest plate and purple blood spewing forth. The orange-skinned solider choked on his own blood as it filled his throat, the sticky fluid pouring down his chin, his features marred in shock and agony.

The Saiyan warrior smirked devilishly at the reaction, relishing in the fact that he was elbow deep in his victim's torso, pushing his arm in a little further into the pit of his stomach and causing the brute to gasp and writhe in his suffering.

"It's just as I thought," Bardock snarled, "You don't have any _guts_!"

On cue, he wrenched his arm away with a sickening _squelch_ , ripping out a meaty mass of organs from the gaping wound and tossing them to the ground where they landed with a loud and hideous **SPLAT!**

 _Well, that was a little excessive,_ Gohan winced in distaste. Though he didn't have much chance to dwell on his grandfather's brutality, as Napal's blood curdling screams cut through the air. The elite's wide eyes dulled and whitened as he fell rapidly through the sky and tumbled to his demise.

And it was then that pandemonium erupted.

Dodoria's men charged towards Bardock all at once. Their unrestrained cry of fury fuelled by sight and terror of their gutted comrade, as well as the gruesome shock of his bloody insides lying several feet below them.

A shower of hot Ki blasts ignited the air, though the Commander was too quick, phasing out and reappearing above one of the henchmen, cracking them effortlessly across the skull with both fists and sending him crashing to the ground. The soldier impacted the dirt with a barbarous **BOOM** , forming a small crater around his body that remained broken and unmoving.

"You dirty ape!" A bulky blue-skinned elite roared, firing himself towards the Saiyan and leading another charge through the unfurling columns of smoke left over from the useless beams.

Bardock ducked and dived swiftly out of the way of their attacks, following up with his own unrelenting barrage that sent shockwaves rippling over the half-destroyed mountain range - nearly levelling the rest of the peaks with a devastating blast that exploded from his right palm, wiping out around a third of Dodoria's men in the process.

Enraged, the rest of the henchmen sprang towards him, the first wave easily avoided by the Commander. Though Gohan almost cried out in warning, as an unruly soldier made to grab Bardock from behind when he wasn't looking. But he needn't have been worried, as his grandfather grabbed the hulking man by the elbow, flipping him over his shoulder and subsequently guarding him from another attacker who was quickly closing in.

Bardock's victim shrieked as his comrade's fists sunk into his back instead, cracking his spine on collision with a nauseating **_snap_**. The flabbergasted elite all but gawped at the Saiyan, before the both of them were obliterated in another blaze of burning energy - curtesy of Bardock's outstretched hand.

"What was that you were saying about us being outnumbered?" He jested as the blinding light cleared, casting shadows back over his hardened features, "Because the way I'm going, I'd say my odds are pretty damn good."

Alright, so maybe 'Grandpa Bardock' was a little bit of a badass, Gohan thought to himself, his mouth becoming unhinged at the sight of the stoic warrior, whose chilling gaze ran the length of the remaining soldiers as they wisely shrunk away in fear.

"HOW _DARE_ YOU!" A ballsy opponent suddenly roared, drawing back his fist as he careened full-speed towards the mocking Saiyan.

It seemed as though one henchman was all it took for the rest to gather what courage they had left and ambush Bardock in one last desperate attempt. Spotting this, Raditz growled, his eyes glinting with malice as he kicked off from the ground and launched himself towards the fray.

"Oh no you don't!" The long-haired man yelled, aiming for one elite who was too busy charging up a crippling Ki attack to notice him barreling towards him.

"Right behind you, son!" Gine cried fiercely, wanting to get in on the action, a white aura igniting around her petite frame as she followed him hurriedly into the air.

Though Raditz's attempt was in vain, as Bardock blew his assailants back momentarily with an explosive wave of Ki, turning just in time to block the blast that was headed straight for him. The purple beam struck his forearm dead on, though the Commander managed to knock it into the air where it detonated in a vibrant swirl of black and violet smoke. It blew back the amber clouds, causing them to quiver from the force and streaks of blackened lightening to ripple over the upper sky.

The elite squeaked, too blinded by the shock of the explosion to notice Gine appearing behind him. Without missing a beat, her boot aimed for his skull, striking the alien down with an agonising force, where he hit the ground unmoving in much the same manner as his other fallen comrades. Bardock finished off the job with a sizzling Ki ball, the soldier's body disintegrating into nothingness.

"Nice shot, babe," Bardock praised, albeit gruffly.

"You're not so bad yourself," Gine giggled, giving him a sly wink that caused the usually abrasive man's cheeks to tinge pink, "You know Bardock, fighting together like this reminds me of our younger days, going off on missions to conquer distant worlds…"

"Hn, is that so?" The Commander raised an eyebrow as something devilish flashed within his eyes, his lips quirking upwards, "Why don't after this, I remind you of what _else_ we used to get up to on missions?"

Gine flushed, as Raditz rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Oh for the love of - READ A BATTLEFIELD PEOPLE! Can you _not_ do this right now?!"

Gohan - for the first time ever, actually agreed with his uncle, feeling his own embarrassment burning away at him.

His grandfather unashamedly scoffed, "Oh shut up Raditz, just because every woman _you've_ ever bedded has to go to therapy afterwards just to rid herself of the disappointing memory."

The halfling couldn't help but snort, as Raditz positively seethed, "Father! That is not - !"

"Oh please, I've heard the stories from Nappa."

Gine tutted, unimpressed, "Bardock really, is that any way to speak about your eldest son?"

"That depends on whether or not he decides to get off this never ending merry-go-round of disappointment," he replied haughtily.

"But _father_ \- !"

"Shut it! I'm tired of your constant backchat, boy! But that's not _nearly_ the main problem here," He snapped, gesturing to the smouldering ashes of the former elite below them, "Like where were you for the last five fucking minutes when I was kicking their asses?! You should have at _least_ gotten one kill in instead of just gawpin' at them!"

"I thought you had it!" He protested angrily, prompting the man to let out a frustrated snarl, "And I _was_ going to make a move until that blast - and then mother - !"

" _Enough_ with your excuses!" Bardock fumed, "You're damned lazy is what you are! You ain't gonna get any stronger sittin' on that good-for-nothing tail of yours! It's already hard enough as it is to improve around here with that idiot troll upstairs breathing down our necks!"

Raditz looked furious, though before he could argue any further, did another bout of cold laughter echo around them. The Saiyans whirled around, it appeared they had forgotten they were in the middle of a fight in light of their family spat. There were now just under half of their opponents left, though despite this - and being the idiots that were Frieza's underlings, the soldiers in question couldn't help but mock those whom they thought were beneath them.

"Your father's right you know," a spotted-skinned elite glowered snidely at Raditz, "You aren't going to save your cute little girlfriend if you don't give us all you've got."

The long-haired warrior's cheeks flushed, enraged, as Bardock howled with laughter, "He's not my damned girlfriend! He's my idiot nephew!"

Gohan scowled up at him, as Dodoria's elites shared a look of disgust.

"Well," one offered thoughtfully, "General Zarbon _did_ used to tell us that all Saiyans were inbred."

"THAT'S IT!" Raditz bellowed, charging up his deadliest attack, his fists buzzing with electrifying energy, "I'll teach you fools to make a mockery out of me - ! _DOUBLE SUNDAY_!"

At once, two gigantic beams exploded from the Saiyan's palms. The whirring, searing energy speeding towards the startled soldiers, who screamed and yelled as they attempted to dodge the blasts. It connected with a clattering **BOOM!** the smell of charcoaled fleshed wafting through the air as the rest of the henchmen were completely wiped out.

"Huh," Bardock observed as the light dissipated, nodding in approval, "That wasn't nearly as entirely useless as usual, you actually managed to hit someone with it."

Raditz seethed, as the man continued gruffly, "Shame about the name though."

"Father, now is really not the time to be discussing the names of my techniques!"

"He's got a point, you know," said Gohan, unable to keep himself from agreeing with his grandfather about the badly named attack.

"Shut up, runt!" He shot back, "What the hell do you know anyway?! I bet you haven't even _got_ a signature attack!"

"Er, I have actually."

"Oh _really_?" Raditz barked, throwing his head back in exclamation, "And what could possibly be the name of this 'big scary attack' hmm? ' _The blast of love and friendship_ '? ' _The beam of hope and justice_?' Or ' _The song and dance of weaklings_?!'"

"Mass Extinction."

Bardock smirked, as his uncle spluttered wordlessly, "He's got you there, Raditz, that does sound pretty fucking cool."

The teenager smirked back, as Raditz huffed and stuck his nose in the air in defiance, "Well… it's not _that_ cool."

Gohan rolled his eyes, "Sure it isn't."

"Fuck you, brat!"

They were interrupted, by an obvious shift in the air. The young Destroyer felt the disturbance just before it happened, the low rumble that reached his sensitive ears and the rubble beneath his feet beginning to shudder and quake. He cast his dark eyes towards the horizon, where the shadows were so dark that they appeared solid. Slowly, he saw the darkness start to stir, and move towards them at a rapid speed.

And it was then did he realise that they weren't shadows at all. No, they were inmates - Frieza's army to be exact. Hundreds, _thousands_ of them careening towards the decimated valley, a furious war cry erupting from their throats as they headed straight for them.

Gohan wondered firstly how they could have even found them all the way out here seen as he had noticed that none of the henchman so far had been wearing scouters - most likely not being able to bring them with their bodies to HFIL. Then again, his Saiyan family had caused quite a commotion that wasn't that difficult to miss.

"Incoming!" Gine yelled, slipping into stance in midair as she spotted the charging army.

"Well I didn't want them to find us so soon, but I guess it can't be helped," said Bardock, a wry smirk playing on his lips as he smashed a closed fist into the palm of his hand, "Looks like some people just can't _wait_ to be blasted back into their cells."

"They may just be grunts, but there's a hell of a lot of them," said Raditz, gritting his teeth as the earthquaking roar of thousands of soldiers grew louder and harsher. "We have to be cautious."

"Tch, cautious my ass," the elder Saiyan spat savagely, "Where's your sense of pride? I've been waiting _years_ to get my revenge on these worthless shits!"

Raditz opened his mouth to argue, when Gine stopped him by placing her hand gently on his shoulder, "Just let your father have this one son, it's been a long thirty-eight years for him."

He reluctantly complied at her soothing tone, as Bardock let out a loud bellow from his chest. Balling his hands up into fists, his white aura burst into life around him, his muscles bulging as his power swelled even further. His pitch black hair wavered in the breeze, spiking upwards in an even more wild fashion as his obsidian eyes glinted with unbridled glee.

And then, he was off as his power peaked, almost blowing back Gine and Raditz as he propelled himself into the centre of the approaching army. Spearheading the assault, he struck a rather large brute in the jaw with a powerful uppercut, sending the henchman crashing into a gaggle of others and sending them flying. A ferocious plethora of energy blasts lit up the crimson and amber sky, and distinctly, Gohan could make out his grandfather's cackles of manic laughter through the terrified screams and rip-roaring explosions.

Distracted by the full-frontal attack by the Saiyan Commander, the army slowed in their path, aiming to knock Bardock out of the sky. But again, he was too quick, dodging a Ki ball that aimed for his back and slamming his elbow into another henchmen's face. His grandfather fought with a bold and unrestrained aggression, seemingly using every inch of his body to inflict pain - and _hell_ was it working, he blinked, watching as bodies continued to drop to the ground one by one.

"Let's bash some skulls in!" His grandmother boomed, springing into action just as Raditz did, flanking either side of Bardock and striking down a soldier each simultaneously.

Though as each member of the Frieza Force was defeated, even more were quick to take up their place. Gine used the advantage of her smaller frame to dip and dive out of the rampaging fists of one hulking solider, before following up in her attack, sucker-punching her opponent with a fierce snarl and kneeing him harshly in the sternum - a loud **CRACK** filtering into the air.

Raditz was currently taking on three assailants at once, and was surprisingly holding his own, parrying one of the henchman's oncoming shins before blasting another in the face. Though despite the stellar start, the battle was quickly turning, for there were far too many of them to take on at once. And to the teenager's dismay, Gine and Raditz were becoming overpowered by sheer numbers alone.

And although Bardock was most certainly dealing a lot more damage than the others, it wasn't going to end any time soon.

Gohan cringed, as he heard his grandfather scream with fury, his lip bleeding and his armour scuffed and tattered. His swinging fist barrelled into a swarm of soldiers, sending them hurtling across the sky, before he was ambushed once more, shielding him from the teen's view.

Should he…?

He looked up, as Raditz was struck with an almighty gut punch. He coughed up a wad of blood and saliva, though quickly recovered, snarling with rage as he launched himself back towards another throng of soldiers.

Whis wouldn't exactly be too thrilled if he got involved, it wasn't exactly a _Destroyer's_ job to control wayward hellions. He was under strict instructions not to cause any trouble whilst he was in HFIL, after all.

But did it still count if the trouble had come to him?

He bit his cheek in annoyance, struggling with himself. He didn't really fancy being ripped a new one by his superiors again, and if it all went pear-shaped, who _knows_ what the Divine Council would have to say on the matter.

A sudden shriek broke him out of his thoughts, catching sight of his grandmother falling rapidly through the sky, curtesy of a burly brute smacking her hard across the face. She caught herself quickly, gathering up her Ki and propelling herself back through the air, though to his dismay, her subsequent kick missed by inches, allowing another couple of henchmen to take ahold of her wrists - trapping her.

She squirmed, desperate to break free as a tank of a solider leered over her, licking his lips sadistically.

"Oh, you're going to regret this," he leered, a disgusting trail of drool escaping his lips as he raised his fist high into the air, making to take deadly aim and -

"OH _FINE!_ " Gohan relented to the upper sky as though shouting to fate itself, and teleporting instantly to Gine's side.

He easily caught the alien's oncoming blow just before it made impact, causing the grunt to squawk in both shock and horror, bewildered by the young man's sudden appearance before him.

"The _only_ thing someone's going to regret here is not bringing an extra pair of underwear to a battle zone, because believe me, you're going to need some when I'm through with you lot," The young Destroyer glowered, giving him a menacing stare that caused the goon to visibly shudder - confirming his suspicions.

Though he didn't give him a chance to answer, as he unleashed a hefty blast from his palm, firing at point blank range.

 **BOOM!**

The soldier erupted in a shower of ash, his body completely vaporised.

Gine's captors were stunned, and taking the opening whilst she could, his grandmother swiftly broke out of their hold. Yanking back her arm and striking the soldier to her left in the ribs, whilst Gohan phased out, grabbing the one on the right and banging the henchmens' heads together, causing them to fall hundred of feet into a well of sharp and deadly spikes below.

" _KA-ME-HA-ME…._ " He chanted, cupping his palms to his side as hundreds of Frieza's minions attempted to escape him, _"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"_

The brilliant blue beam burst into existence, dazzling the soldiers as it hurtled towards them. Their screams where swiftly quelled as the enormous blast engulfed the lot of them, careening off into the distance and connecting with a mountain on the horizon - reducing it to ash.

"Thank you, Gohan," his grandmother cooed proudly, reaching over and pinching at his cheek, "That was a nice save!"

"Er, thanks," he replied, blushing a little at her affection, when a loud scream reached his ears. Looking over, he realised that Raditz was being held in a headlock, as several soldiers unleashed an onslaught of ruthless attacks upon him. His armour was cracked in several places, and his face beaten and bloodied - he was being pummelled.

"Can you handle it?" He asked Gine, gesturing to a few grunts that were hovering across from them in the sky, calculating their next move. As thanks to Gohan's _Kamehameha_ , the army's numbers had been significantly reduced.

She nodded, a small twinkle in her eyes, "Don't worry about your old grandma. My fighting days may have been over a long time ago, but I can handle _those_ weaklings."

He gave her a wry smile, before leaving her to it and racing to Raditz' side, wasting no time in driving a spinning kick straight to his captor's throat. His stiletto heel pierced the soldier's jugular, causing the brute to gurgle and scoff, blood pouring unforgivingly from the wound as he abruptly let go of his uncle.

Not letting up, Gohan smashed his fist into the brute's temple, his punch so rife with power that the vile fiend exploded into smithereens, leaving _nothing_ left. The teenager turned to the rest of the henchmen, who had all quite rightly staggered backwards in light of their new opponents might.

"Next?" He quirked almost wickedly, his onyx eyes raking over them and causing them to quiver in fear.

"I don't need your help, runt!" Raditz spat suddenly, causing the halfling to roll his eyes.

"Oh right yeah," He scoffed sarcastically, "'cause you looked as though you were really holding your own back there."

"Shut up!" He roared, firing off a few hits from his open palm and sending several soldiers plummeting to the crater-filled ground below them.

The young Destroyer ignored him, instead taking off and setting about disintegrating the rest of the Frieza Force in a cacophony of fast and precise strikes that sent the hellions shattering into nothingness. He knew that he couldn't Destroy them as it hadn't been authorised, however, that didn't mean that he couldn't send them off packing back to their cells - where he sincerely hoped they would stay.

A clattering shockwave ricocheted over the vast landscape, as Bardock finished off his own band of opponents - impaling the last of them with his fist before joining Gohan in the air. Grandfather and grandson floated back to back, obliterating the last few hundred stragglers with a conjoined blast of golden energy. The atoms around them sizzled and popped from the heat of the attack, their enemies' screams silenced in an instant.

The harsh sounds from the Frieza Force's onslaught continued to ring in his ears as they landed on the disturbed earth, his grandmother giving them a smile of relief.

"Phew, I'm glad that's over," Gine sighed, wiping a few beads of sweat from her brow as the brilliant light dwindled, "Well done boys."

"Yeah yeah," said Bardock, watching several leftover bodies and severed limbs evaporate in a smoulder of black particles. "Though I doubt that was even half of the Cold empire. Let's move before any more show up. I don't want to waste any more energy on low level pissants like Frieza's cannon fodder."

"Well um, it was great to meet you… sort of," said Gohan, lifting off into the air once more. It was true that he was full of questions for his Saiyan family, but there were much more pressing matters to attend to. Mainly, the fact that during the fight, he had realised that the _universe_ would be in a lot more trouble than _he_ was right now if he didn't put an end to this mayhem, "But I've really got to get going -."

"Going?" Gine blinked in confusion, "You're leaving already?"

"I have to to stop this uprising," he told her defiantly, "If I can put everyone back into their cells, then that'll be one less thing that I'll have to worry about. I'm sorry that I have to leave when I've just met you both," he added, looking towards his grandparents, "But I can't risk the unraveling of the barrier between dimensions, and I certainly don't want anyone to get hurt when I have the power to prevent it."

"Oh give me a break," griped Raditz, as the teenager finished his speech.

His grandfather snorted, "Nice try kid, but you ain't gettin' out of this family reunion that easily."

"But - !"

"You ain't got a chance this side of hell taking out all of those fuckers on your own, you wouldn't last - even at _your_ level," he added, as the teen opened his mouth to protest, "HFIL ain't a walk in the park Gohan, especially for pure-hearted spirits like you."

Gohan frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Pure spirits aren't supposed to wonder into this realm," his grandmother explained, "Some with stronger wills might be alright for a while, but slowly the darkness can eat away at your pure heart. It can drive some insane, to the point where they are but a shell of their former selves. Nothing but a lonely shadow fated to wonder the depths of HFIL for all eternity."

"Has that ever happened before?" He asked, "I mean, pure spirits that got turned into shadows?"

Bardock nodded, "According to the ogres, only those that have accidentally fallen off Snake-Way and into here. Basically - only fucking idiots that didn't look where they were going."

"HFIL works a lot differently to the other realms," said Gine, "It is forever changing, warping. Not only the weather but the landscape too. Sometimes you think that what you're looking at his real, but actually it's just an illusion. It's a very dangerous place, little cub, and because of it you can become so easily lost, and you don't know your way around here as it is."

Gohan sighed, though accepted her explanation and lowered himself back to the ground. It wouldn't do well for him to get trapped in a deep part of HFIL and never be able to return. After all, Goz and Mez had told him to stick to the well-known pathways of the realm when he had first arrived, and similarly not stray too far into certain treacherous sectors.

No doubt _this_ was one of them, he thought bitterly.

"We want to help," his grandmother implored, stepping forwards so that she was closer to him, touching him gently on the forearm, "Help prevent this rebellion from happening, I mean."

"You do?" He said sceptically, though they had certainly proven their intentions thus far.

"Of course we do," Gine said firmly, her brow furrowing, "You know just as well as any of us that if that bastard Frieza reeks havoc upon this realm then it would spell trouble for us Saiyans, as well as the rest of the universe should the fabrication of the dimensions fall apart. Not to mention the rest of the monsters that will be out for blood."

An involuntary shiver ran down his spine to the place where his tail used to be. His grandmother was right after all, there would be an abundance of evil doers out for revenge, and he knew _just_ who the main culprits were. If anything, Frieza was the least of his concerns right now. And not only did his mind perform a quick run down of every villain he had ever faced when he had been alive, it also highlighted the ones that he had killed since he had been dead - and _hell_ were there a lot of them.

And if they had all escaped then… well, shit. He might just have to take up his estranged family's offer and head back to Zalama knows where and think of a game plan at least. He had half a mind to contact Whis and inform him of the unfolding situation…

But something held him back, a part of him that wanted to prove himself again. He had severely disappointed his superiors after all - and still was due to not being able to utilise the power of the Super Saiyan God to its full potential. Maybe, _just maybe_ , if he singlehandedly dissolved an uprising in HFIL then he might be able to gain their trust in him again. That, and it _would_ make for some pretty decent training.

Either way, putting bad guys in back in their place was a whole lot more entertaining than fixing the Otherworld's plumbing problem.

"Well, alright," said Gohan, giving in, "I suppose I'll need your help to navigate my way around here. But I'm not too worried about taking them out, I'm sure that I can handle it."

"That's the spirit, kid," Bardock let out a small chuckle, clapping him roughly on the shoulder, "But how's about a proposition? You scratch our back, we'll scratch yours."

His eyes narrowed, "Meaning?"

"Meaning that you help us clean up HFIL - you _are_ already dressed the part after all," he smirked, causing Gohan's cheeks to redden with annoyance, "And I'll help you figure out this new form of yours."

"The Super Saiyan God?" He guffawed, "Look, no offence, but I don't think that you'll be much help. It's a divine transformation and -."

"Get your head outta your ass," his grandfather scoffed, "It's a Saiyan transformation, which not just any _mighty deity_ can obtain. Whatever you _think_ it is, you're fucking it up. And you're never going to be able to master it fully if you don't understand the form's components."

"Huh?"

Bardock tutted in aggravation, "You're only half-Saiyan right? Born on Earth, lived as an Earthling, yada yada. What I'm trying to say is that you've never fought like a Saiyan, _trained_ like a Saiyan, utilised your full Saiyan potential - the part of you that gives you your natural fighting instincts, right? Genetics can only give you so much to work with, kid. The point is, how the hell do you expect to be able to control this Saiyan power that has been gifted to you by some damn ritual when you don't fully understand it?"

Gohan bit his lip in thought, he had never thought about it like that. But something just didn't quite sit right with them.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked, looking towards his grandparents as Raditz continued to sulk. "Helping me? Stopping HFIL from unleashing?"

"Because I want a quiet fucking afterlife," Bardock stated gruffly, "And like it or not, your idiot ass is the key to preventing _everything_ from going to shit. From what I can gather anyway."

"Y-You've seen it?" He mustered, his grandfather's foresighted abilities ringing true.

"Partly, my visions aren't wholly accurate. Sometimes the power shows me things seconds, days or years into the future," he shrugged, though his features became stern, and Gohan could see the sudden anger that flashed within his eyes, "For _example_ , I saw Kakarot face off against Frieza before I even died. That was it, I thought. My son was going to slaughter that dirty traitor and avenge us!"

His grandfather snarled, throwing his hands up in exasperation, "But _no_ , Kakarot didn't even have the BALLS to finish the damned job! And who did?! Hmm?! King Vegeta's magical fucking time-traveling grand-spawn! Useless psychic powers didn't show me that little miscalculation now did they?! And _hell_ would the King not let me forget _that_ shit show!"

Gohan winced, as Bardock became so angry that he thought that steam was about to spurt out of his ears, "So if you even so much as _think_ that I can tell you how to beat Perses or what's going to happen then you're shit outta luck!"

 _Well, that was annoying,_ the halfling sighed, folding his arms across his chest as his grandfather's erratic breathing echoed around them.

"One thing that he kept seeing was _you_ , Gohan," his grandmother said tentatively, as Bardock continued to mutter about his ' _stupid, disappointing, waste-of-space brats_ ', "It's how we were able to recognise you so easily. And how we knew you'd be down here, and that you were struggling with this new transformation of yours. His visions haven't been consistent, so we've had to string the pieces of what's happening together over the years. But we think that we might be able to help with this."

"So you really can't tell me anything about Perses?" Gohan pressed, "If he escapes or _anything_? If we'll… win?"

"Things are hazy right now," said Bardock, having calmed himself down, "I don't know if it's due to the surge in negative energy around here that's messing with my powers, but it's somethin'. Who knows? What I _do_ know is that the future is unstable. _Anything_ could happen. The only thing that's been clear my mind is you kid, which is why I've decided to help you out of the fucking goodness of my cold dead heart. So count yourself privileged as hell."

"Um, thanks?" He said weakly, as his grandmother gave him a beaming smile, "But where do we even start?"

"Home," she told him, "The Saiyans are a huge target for Frieza, and if his soldiers have managed to set him free too then it won't be long until he attacks us, or sends someone stronger at least. If Dodoria's elites and the Frieza Force have managed to get this far then it won't be long until we come under fire again. We have to be prepared for anything."

"And no doubt that _golden boy_ here will take all the glory for himself," Raditz said snidely, causing Gohan to shoot him an irritated glare.

"We'll get something to eat and then start putting our heads together," Gine gushed brightly, "Oh I can't _wait_ to show you off to everyone!"

 _Everyone?_ The teenager wondered nervously, when his grandfather cut across him.

"Not like _that_ you won't," he growled, "First things first, we're going to have to get you some decent fucking clothes. Ain't no grandson of _mine_ going to be walking around dressed like a Ginyu Force groupie."

"A what?" Gohan blundered, as Bardock grabbed him by the scruff of his neck once more and started to pull him further into the valley beyond the rubble of the mountain. Due the cave being destroyed, he could now make out the long cracks that were etched into the rocky slopes that had miraculously survived the fray.

One was deeper than the others, he noticed, shrugging his grandfather off of him as they got closer to it. He watched as his grandmother easily slipped inside, realising that it led to a dark network of tunnels underneath the mountain range. Raditz went next, his large shoulders brushing against the rock as he squeezed himself into the narrow space. Though with only some difficultly, he made it inside.

Bardock picked up on his reluctance immediately, sighing in annoyance as he caught sight of the halfling glaring at the space where Raditz had disappeared.

"Oh boo-fuckety-hoo, you're still mad at him," he said scathingly, "You can kiss and make up later, but right now I ain't got time for family therapy, so suck it up and get your mongrel ass in the tunnel."

Gohan scowled, he was so _pushy_. Though despite himself, he relented, averting his eyes from his grandfather's challenging stare and following his uncle into the dank space. Because no matter how much he didn't like it, his mother had always taught him to respect his ancestors, and that teaching was still ingrained within him for better or for worse.

Although, he thought, as Bardock forcibly kicked him in the rest of the way by launching his boot up his backside, he couldn't ignore the horrible, sinking feeling that _this_ was probably for the worst.

* * *

 _14th January 2020_

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 _ **A/N:** Thanks for reading! Hoping the next chapter won't be too far away for you guys! Writing Bardock was SO MUCH FUN. I really enjoyed playing with his character, and making him a little more... crass than in the movie specials. haha. I wanted to give a little more background to Raditz and the whole Frieza blowing up Planet Vegeta too, so I mixed the DBS Broly movie, and the Bardock movies :) The next chapter - which is so close to being complete and will NOT have a two month wait! Hope to see you in the next episode of Son Gohan The Destroyer: **Chapter Twenty-Eight: Legacy**_

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 **Reviews:**

Squidzi Galaxi: yaaaaas!

X3runner: oooh you deffo entered my mind there! You will find more about the SSG form in the next chapter! As for the maids outfit being from Whis' own closet... I never said it wasnt :P haha! Thank you for your review :)

DaDragon562 : hmm I understand your observation and thank you for your r/v and thoughts! I am hoping that this HFIL time gives him some redemption and I really wanted to get it across how heartbroken he his. He wants to get better, stronger. But his duty has always been to his loved ones and to keep them safe, that is Gohan's character through and through. Gohan still needs growth, for me I couldnt just see him being great at everything off the bat, including being dead set on what he wants, Gohan is complex in ways that Goku isnt, and his more emotional than Vegeta too. The whole point of this story is about Gohans growth, finding out who he is, and not what everyone expects him to be. He will find his way, but it'll take a journey to get there! :)

Pie 555 : thanks for your r/v and Im so glad you enjoyed the maids outfit haha ooo a kids section in hell! I have some thoughts on this but wont spoil for future chapters ;)

dx-1118 : absolutely! and thanks for your r/v! A good blast from the past and a firm kick up the arse is exactly what he needs!

o- Nyx -o : ALL THE LOVE THANK YOUUUUU :) xD

TheAlphaOfLife : thank you so much! Yes glad you liked the brooklyn 99! I could not get that out of my head!

devilzxknight86 : haha maybe! :P I am so excited for what is to come!

Hek'UnnSkipper: thanks so much for your r/v really glad you enjoyed it !

Green Cuppa : thank you so much for your two r/vs in one xD really glad you enjoyed them yay! yes I really wanted to depict chichi just how you said, and I think in this story she has mellowed out significantly in regards to studying etc with her I wanted to make her more human than banshee as she is often depicted too! Really happy that came across and that you appreciated it :) and yes I would like to think that she has had to hold the fort in this story a lot when Goku has broken because of Gohans untimely death! For chappy 26 r/v - so glad you liked the maids outfit! it just HAD to be done didnt it?! hahaha. Im thinking more gruesome punishments would have been appropriate for him but Beerus certainly swayed the Council with the dress idea haha I really hoped you enjoyed Gohan's reunion with his saiyan family! And your writers theory is wonderful! But I dont want to spoil the next couple of chapters, hopefully wont be long to wait though :P Gohan needs a good sulk, and a kick up the arse haha but I do not aim for him to wallow for too long, as Bardock says - they have bigger shit to deal with! :)

Thomas-The-TMC " Thank you!

super mystic gohan : thank you so much :) Hoping you liked this chapter and Gohan and Bardocks interactions!

FireEmblemMaster101 : You guess it re Gine and Bardock! :) Thank you so much for your review! You are too kind! Gine deffo has mama bear... or is it mama oozaru? haha either way she is still fierce despite being gentle, which throws Gohan for a loop at first! Really liking your thoughts on how Gine ended up in HFIL too! I too was going off the missions things, and maybe yeah she did choose to go with Bardock to HFIL I really loved that! Yes it was mentioned that Gine was a part of Bardocks team at one point, and I thought why drag it out this scene, Gohan can meet the whole family at once! They all came to get him - though Raditz reluctantly lets face it! haha Glad you enjoyed the maids outfit too! Gohan fighting in it for me is TOO FUNNY! Yeah I thought I didnt want to make the punishment as severe as he is doing some good in attempting to bring Zamasu to justice and prevent Perses from escaping. The Gods are curious too, even if Gohan did break a very VERY big rule! And also thank you so so much for your kind words, I cannot tell you how happy it makes me that people are really loving something that I do for fun - but has very much become such a big part of my life! This story fills my thoughts like every single day, I have so many ideas about it and jot things down on my phone when im out or at work or in the middle of the night! Haha. so truly thank you from the bottom of my heart! And hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

LoneRanger7 : wow thank you so much for such kind words! XD you made my heart burst! haha Thats truly amazing that youve read it three times already oh my gosh! Thank you xD im so happy that youre enjoying it. I said in the review above that I cant express how much it makes me happy when I hear you guys are enjoying something that I do for fun! But this story is taking over my life and I LOVE IT xD Haha thank you so much, its lovely of you to pick that moment of Goku's sacrifice, I felt as though that scene would play over and over in Gohan's head - his biggest mistake, possibly the thought that gave him the push to make his decision to become a destroyer. And even though its been years he is still struggling with that memory. He doesnt want to fail like that again! He will get off his arse soon, promise! xD really hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the others. More to come sooner than 2 months! :O And thank you for your well wishes, and no it is not bad for you to wish me to stay in hospital, I wanted to as well! haha xD

Marbbles123: thanks so much for your r/v! :) yessss angsty Gohan is one of my faves, so I am glad you enjoyed it! and also enjoyed the maids outfit! Poor Gohan! Hope you liked Bardock in this chapter too, more to come from this crass saiyan soon!

that-girl-at-the-corner ... chapter 18: thank you so much! Glad youre enjoying this story! XD

dolguldur : thank you!

Guest : thank you :)

Mrs. Videl Son : thanks so much! :)

RabbitMelody: haha yes! The dress, the heels and the womens knickers :P

ObnoxiousDadJoke : haha! thanks for your r/v! yes where is Cell... I wonder...

Chmia: Yay! Im glad! Thank you :)

yasho360: thank you so much! Yes I too felt like Gohan needed MORE. I hope he continues to give it you in this story Xd - or rather I do!:)

ErintheBestest : thank you so much Erin! Hope you enjoyed this chappy! :)

WhiteEagle1985 : thank you so much! Hope you keep coming back xD

Elzurdomaldito : yep, thats Grandpa Bardock alright! xD

Iwik : Thank you so much for your r/v and honestly no worries on the wait of r/v! I do not expect anything trust me! Thank you for taking the time to comment! I do hope things have settled down for you again now! Glad you enjoyed the last chapter and really hope you liked this one too :)

Rochful : Thank you! xD


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